Choice and Consequence
by YarningChick
Summary: A chance meeting changes fate. You never know what ripples one choice will make. Cover art provided by Xireana Prime.
1. Different

A/N: To those who wondered why this took so long, feel free to blame my knitting needles. I started this special jacket for my sister maybe five or seven years ago, and I decided that **this** would be the year that it got finished. The yarn in question was nearly thin enough to thread my sewing machine with, and I ran into a few problems with the self-made pattern. It did get finished, it looks awesome, and I'm not even sorry that it's now off my yearly craft list. That thing's been haunting me for long enough. I barely even had the creative energy for a Halloween costume this year, but at least I didn't have to fall back on the 'responsible adult' costume again.

So, this story isn't done yet, but I think I've made people wait long enough. And while I was originally planning on starting the story around Christmas since the first few chapters are centered around the holiday (I even wrote the first chapters on and a little after Christmas), the simple fact is that people are too busy to really read fanfiction in late December, and I'm not going to hold that against them. Besides, they can always reread the Christmas chapters on the day if they have the leisure. The first 20 chapters are beta-ed, so I should have time to finish the story without any problem.

If I don't have it done on time, feel free to blame my needles for it, knitting or other. They're too shiny for me to resist, and will probably be the ones to blame.

My only other note is that I decided on the plot before a recent anime grabbed my attention and ordered me not to look away. I swear I didn't copy it. I actually got freaked out by the many similarities, but let's see how quickly my readers pick up on which anime I mean.

 **Chapter One: Different**

 _Why am I so different?_

 _-Tarzan, Disney's 'Tarzan'_

 **xxXxx**

 _I have never been so infuriated in all my life!_

 _I thought things were bad enough before, but now... How could he have had the gall to say Mom's death was_ _ **my**_ _fault?! How dare he make growing up such a nightmare that the only reason I'm alive is because I was too cowardly to run in front of a speeding car and be done with it?!_

 _Okay, okay. Deep breaths. This is the only way I'm going to be able to talk about what happened and not get sent to a loony bin. I mean, I love Dad more than anything, but he wouldn't be able to cope with something like this. The only way he'd believe me was if I had proof, and that's the problem. If I had proof, I could have done... well, I wouldn't have to do anything because the problem would have been fixed when I was still an innocent child._

 _I could have been so happy if that..._ _ **monster**_ _had choked on his own pride before this all began. I hate that I'm never going to be given an explanation for what happened that day. I hate that no one thought I was worth one, or at least an apology. Even a little 'thank you' would have been enough to satisfy me. I don't know how much of this or the other journals I just bought I'm going to have to destroy before I get everything I want to say out._

 _Because despite any and all attempts to the contrary, my name is Haru Yoshioka._

 _And this is my story._

ooOoo

Her first memory was a mirror. She couldn't walk yet, but was getting close to it, judging from the way she was able to crawl up to the cold glass.

She didn't understand who the strange new playmate was at first. The new baby's white fuzzy hair wasn't anything like she had seen before, and her eyes...

Once she reached the mirror, she reached out with chubby fingers to touch those eyes as the playmate did the exact same thing.

As soon as she touched the glass, she understood. Bracing both hands against the mirror, she managed to get up on her legs in order to get the best look at her own eyes, lightly slapping the glass just in case it was a trick.

Her eyes didn't have any white in them like other people did. They were completely blue, with black slits for pupils.

"Yuki!" a harsh voice screamed at her, startling the baby enough to make her cry as rough hands grabbed her and pulled her away from the glass. "Don't touch that! Now I have to clean it again!"

ooOoo

"This isn't working out."

A two year old child scowled at the grown man talking, and tried to hide behind a coat rack.

"I mean, she barely eats what we give her, she doesn't get along with the other children, and she won't listen to us or say a word!" the woman at his side persisted, trying not to scowl at the tiny girl.

"Oh, please don't do this. We're running out of homes to put her in," the caseworker pleaded almost desperately, but the couple were firm.

"Besides," the man added, giving the girl a wary look before leaning across the desk to speak lowly as if he didn't want her to hear.

Yuki **always** heard.

"It happened again. Right in front of us. Ichigo had to go to a doctor for stitches. Yuki isn't going to hurt any more of our kids."

 _'Does he really think I can't hear him?'_ the girl fumed, but didn't bother defending herself.

Even if she tried to talk, no one would listen to her side of things.

Of course, if Ichigo had stopped pulling her hat off and playing keep away with it, the accident wouldn't have happened. Yuki pulled on the ears of it hard enough to completely cover her head down to her eyebrows.

"Our word is final. Goodbye, Yuki," the foster father said as he tucked his wife's arm into his own and nearly raced out of the room.

Her caseworker tried without success to bite back a growl of frustration. "Dang it, Yuki! Can't you pretend to be normal for at _least_ a month? Is that too hard?"

She glared at him while standing in front of her bag of spare clothes.

It was the only thing no one could force her to share.

ooOoo

"Now, come on, Yuki. You _have_ to be hungry, now just eat!" Her current foster mother pushed a plate of food at the girl again, more forcefully this time.

The fumes from the onions nearly made her faint, making the three-year-old weakly push it away before slipping off the chair.

"Now you get back here and eat something for once! Yuki, you haven't eaten since last night, you're barely standing up! I went through a lot of trouble to make that for you, why can't you just be a good girl and eat it?!"

Yuki held her tiny hands to her head as another headache pounded against her skull. _'Stop screaming at me, stop screaming at me!'_

The foster mother grabbed one arm to force her back on the chair. "Don't you block mee-agh! _Agh_!" the older woman suddenly croaked, making Yuki look up in horror as she was released from the harsh grip.

 _'Oh no, not again! I've only been here a week!'_

The foster mother glared at her, turning toward a closet in order to grab her coat and car keys. " **Get your b-augh-g!** "

ooOoo

"You're missing out, Yuki," Mako sneered, waving a chocolate bar in front of her face.

The pale child harshly pushed it away by the wrist, gagging harshly from the putrid scent.

"Oh, stop being such a drama queen. Try one bite, it won't hurt you."

She tried running around him, but the teenage boy grabbed her by one arm to keep her around and pressed the chocolate against her lips.

"Try it, you little freak!" he barked at her, just before screaming in pain.

The blue-eyed girl managed to wiggle free as the boy collapsed to the floor, still in agony as he dropped the chocolate and clutched at one of his legs.

It wasn't long until the current foster father came running down the stairs and into the family room in order to see what was going on.

Yuki backed into a corner, using a sleeve of her well-worn shirt to try to rub the chocolate scent off her face.

"What happened?" the foster father asked while trying to see what was wrong with Mako's leg.

"Yuki! Yuki happened! She attacked me!" the boy wailed at the top of his lungs.

Why did her head ache all the time? This wasn't fair at all; Mako was the one picking on her!

The foster father, oh, she couldn't remember his name right now, was staring at her. He wasn't stating how ridiculous it was that a four-year-old girl could do any damage to a fifteen-year-old boy like two foster homes ago. But he was staring at Yuki, his expression beyond worried as he massaged the boy's leg, trying to find the problem.

Three days later, she was back in the foster center.

ooOoo

There was only one way to make Yuki make a sound against her will. Unfortunately, her current foster mother was doing it.

"Stop screaming, this is just a bath!" the older woman yelled at her, trying desperately to keep the child from wiggling out of the tub.

But Yuki couldn't stop. There was this horrible wetness all over her that made the smell of her own hair bad enough to make her wish she didn't have to breathe in before screaming.

"It's not like you even- _grr!-_ have to take one that often! And don't even get me started on that rat's nest you call hair!"

 _'No, not my hair!'_ Yuki thought in a panic. The only thing worse than a bath was when someone tried to detangle her hair!

It was only one of the reasons she always wore a hat that completely covered her knotted white locks, whether people liked it or not. At least when she had it on, she could somewhat look like everyone else.

After one last especially powerful kick at the arm holding the foster mother's balance, and she came down hard enough to smack her head on the side of the tub.

Yuki had no idea how she had enough strength to push the woman's top half out of the bath to keep her from drowning. But she was still dressed and ready with her bag when the woman eventually regained consciousness.

 _'Why do things keep happening when I'm more scared than usual?'_

ooOoo

A knock at the door made an elderly man look up from his papers. "Come in," he called, although he was trying to finish the paperwork as quickly as possible.

It was Christmas Eve, and he had grandchildren waiting to be spoiled.

But as soon as his door opened, he wished he had played absent.

"Takeshi-san, we have a problem," Machida said in a serious tone, glaring at the pale child halfway hiding behind the doorframe.

The man groaned, able to guess the situation. "Don't tell me they _already_ brought her back!"

"Apparently there was an incident with the Christmas tree. The foster father and two kids were hurt." The young caseworker held his arms out helplessly. "I was on the phone for over an _hour_ before coming to you, but it's no use. Word travels faster than I thought. The few homes that haven't tried her yet won't have her, at least for Christmas. One was willing to take her after the New Year's, but that still leaves us with a good week of nowhere to place her."

Takeshi-san slumped in his office chair, staring at Yuki reproachfully. "You couldn't pretend to be normal for the holidays?"

Yuki looked away, hugging her bag of spare clothes close to her tiny chest.

That made him feel a little guilty. Whether or not the 'incidents' were really her fault or if she was taking the blame for random events, she was still only a recently turned five-year-old girl.

He sighed, wishing once again that another foster agency had been chosen to care for 'the witch child'. _'Most of the others are already with their families for Christmas. I don't dare take her home with me, not now that my son's finally talking to me again. The last thing we need is for Yuki to cause another rift.'_

Slowly, his eyes strayed to Machida. "You take her."

Those black eyes widened in horror. "No."

"It's you or nothing, Mishuzi-san. There's no one else to turn to right now, and it's not like you have a family this year."

The younger man grit his teeth in anger. "Actually, I have some pretty big plans tonight. Can't you-"

Takeshi glared at him.

"... Right. Your son. But does it _have_ to be me?"

Deciding that the remaining paperwork could wait, the head of the foster agency got up from his desk and started putting on his coat and hat. "As far as I'm concerned, your holiday bonus is riding on it. Now I'm going, and I recommend you do the same. Try to behave yourself for Machida," he added, his attention on Yuki as he forcefully escorted Machida out of his office so that he could lock it up. "Because if you do whatever voodoo you do to drive yourself out of a home, I'll have no choice but to turn you over to another agency."

"Can't we do that today?" Machida begged desperately.

"They're already closed for Christmas. I tried contacting one earlier for something else, and the message said that the day afterward is the earliest someone will be able to get back to me. Merry Christmas," he wished the man before marching off quickly enough to indicate that the discussion was over.

Machida watched him leave, his eyes dark and angry as he slowly turned to the tiny girl.

She began inching away from such a hateful gaze, even as she knew she wasn't getting away from him any time soon enough for her.

ooOoo

"Don't touch that!"

Yuki quickly withdrew her hand while scowling.

"I heard what happened with the last Christmas tree, you're _not_ touching that one!" Machida firmly escorted her to the other side of the room, between a couch and a wall after he had made a space for her.

"Here's some paper and pencils, knock yourself out while I finish dinner. But don't even _think_ about touching the tree!"

 _'Meanie,'_ Yuki thought hatefully at him as he retreated to the kitchen. But her large blue eyes still became entranced by the tree's pretty lights. _'Isn't the point of a Christmas tree for it to be pretty enough for attention?'_ Stuck without anything else to do, she tried drawing her own Christmas tree on the wooden floor.

The star was much too big for the tree, making it look like a mere twig with grey cobweb strands and circles all over it.

 _'This would look better if he gave me colored pencils, or some crayons.'_ Yuki bit back a laugh at the idea. This apartment was every bit as bland and boring as Machida. Even his precious tree only had grey and black ornaments. It was a nice look, but not as pretty as the...

The other tree. Yuki bit her lower lip, trying not to cry. Why did that family hang toys on the tree but expect kids not to play with them? It's just that the teddy bear hanging a little high up had looked so soft, she wanted to touch its fur.

Just to prove a point, she tried to draw a bear near the same place on her own tree, but it ended up looking more like a gingerbread man.

 _'I wish I was a better artist. Ugh, I'm so_ _ **bored**_ _!'_ Done with drawing for now, she started playing with the pencils instead, trying to find ways to make them stand up without tape or anything to hold them together.

Suddenly her nose caught the scent of _turkey_! Yuki couldn't resist looking over the couch's top hopefully.

Machida was taking a fair-sized turkey out of his oven, struggling slightly as he placed it on top of the stove.

Unfortunately, he poisoned it with onions and potatoes. How come everyone she knew was in love with such awful smelling foods?

Machida suddenly looked at the clock, nearly tripping over his feet in horror. "She'll be here any minute! Yuki, come with me!"

Confused, she picked up the paper and pencils before following him down a hall where he grabbed some spare blankets and a pillow from a wardrobe.

Machida pushed her into a small room with one window. It was a little colder than the rest of the apartment, but the man still arranged the blankets and pillows on the floor next to some shelves with food boxes on them, taking down a box of graham crackers and placing it next to the pillow.

"Look, this night is extremely important to me, Yuki. I'm going to ask my girlfriend to marry me, and the last thing I need is you in the background distracting her with your... well, just you. This girl means too much to me to let you have another 'accident' to drive her off. There's snacks, some blankets for when you're tired. If you're a good and _quiet_ girl tonight, I'll bring you some real food later and Santa will have something for you in the morning."

Again, the stabbing pain shot through her skull, making her whimper.

"Hush, Yuki! Just do this one thing for me!" he begged before shutting the door and... _locking_ it?!

But her bag was still out there behind the couch! Yuki desperately tried to open the door to retrieve it, but couldn't for the lock.

 _'I hope she sees it,'_ the white-haired child fumed, storming back to her makeshift bed and getting under the covers after pocketing her drawing. _'I hope she figures out how much he hates kids and gives him the boot.'_ She somehow managed to open the box and munched on some graham crackers to ease her stomach pain, but didn't eat as much as she wanted.

She wanted to save some room for the turkey, after all.

ooOoo

Several hours later, Yuki snapped awake and sat up from the blankets in horror. _'I have to use the bathroom!'_

Machida would be _furious_ if she wet the floor in here! Praying that the girlfriend had already gone home, Yuki raced for the door and banged on it a few times.

Nothing.

She gripped the handle, inwardly screaming for another incident to-

...Huh. The lock popped open after a few seconds of struggle. Not bothering to worry about the strange event, Yuki ran across the apartment and to the bathroom. Machida had thankfully let her use it when he had brought her here.

Feeling much better after doing her business, the small child looked around the apartment with anger.

The date had not only ended hours ago, but Machida had cleaned up the holiday meal. He had forgotten about bringing her food completely. She tried to retrieve her bag from behind the couch, but Machida had moved it back against the wall, possibly to keep the girlfriend from noticing anything was off about tonight. Her only possession was firmly pinned between the couch and the wall.

Her strange blue eyes tried to fight back the tears, but it wasn't long until they were falling down her face.

… This night was supposed to be special, wasn't it? This was supposed to be the time of year when people were kinder, more caring...

More _loving_. Yet all anyone wanted to do was exclude her from the warmth, the happiness, and even the presents.

Not that Yuki ever got more than spare changes of clothes or socks. But it would be nice if she could have at least one toy. Even if the strange incidents really were her fault, they only happened when people wouldn't leave her alone, that couldn't be worth being on Santa's naughty list!

Too angry to go back to the room she had been sleeping in, Yuki plopped herself on the couch and hugged one of the pillows, pressing her face against it to muffle her cries.

It just wasn't fair. No matter how hard she tried to be good, to not draw attention to herself, she was either forced away or forgotten about. There had even been one time where a foster parent had promised to take her to the movies, but had forgotten her while rounding up everyone else.

Yuki looked out the closest window, randomly picking out a star to wish on before they could fade in the early morning light. _'All I want is a permanent home with someone that wants me. Someone that won't mind that I'm ugly and not blame me every time something odd happens.'_ The small child gave a nasty glare at what she was guessing was her caretaker's bedroom door. _'Machida isn't very good at finding one of those, even when it means he gets stuck with me.'_

She kept hugging the pillow, thinking about what would happen after Christmas. Would the new agency be any better at finding a home for her? Probably not. She was just too much of a _freak_ for anyone to try loving her.

Hey. Wait a minute. Maybe it was because they were picking out the wrong families! She had heard Machida talk about all the regulations that would-be foster parents had to qualify for before taking any kids, and some of them had been plain silly! What if they had driven her loving family off before she could meet them?! What if they were waiting for her right now?!

Yuki excitedly ran to the front door, shoving on her boots and yanking hard on her coat in the closet to make it fall on her.

It was threadbare and scruffy-looking, but at least it kept her warm enough. Yuki hurriedly buttoned herself up and unlocked the front door, nervously looking back at the bedroom door.

But no. Not a sound.

 _'Goodbye, Machida. I can't say that I'll miss you.'_ Without further ado, she walked out the door, snuck down the stairs, and was out of the building before anyone could catch her.


	2. First Sight

**Chapter Two: First Sight**

 _Two lonely bats crashed in the night._

 _They felt a Zing; love at first sight!_

 _-Martha, 'Hotel Transylvania'_

 **xxXxx**

 _I hate Christmas, too. Yeah, I know, but really, look at it from my perspective. Every year the old man would force me to wrap all sorts of beautiful gifts for_ _ **her**_ _, but then act like I was such a whiny spoiled brat for wanting something besides second-hand boy's clothes._

 _That weren't even wrapped or under the tree for the coming morning. He'd lock me in my attic room after he was through using me to make things perfect for_ _ **her**_ _Christmas, and even leave the receipt in my bag so I would know just how little he spent on me when compared to the girl he actually wanted to keep around. The only thing I liked about Christmas for years was the fact that it was one of the two days of the year when I would be left alone and not screamed at. If I was super lucky, he'd even throw in a bag of whatever food he and she didn't want to finish so that I wouldn't get too hungry. Not because he cared, but to prevent another collapse so that no one would get curious and call for an investigation. His ego would never allow such a scandal, but he'd never allow me to eat something enjoyable if he had a way to prevent it._

 _Even after I got away from the old man, Louis was only a little better. Since he'd get me a scarf or something simple but was at least intended for a female, I could make myself ignore the fact that the gift cost a lot less than the amount of money I gave him to buy a present for me. And try to be rational when he never seemed to like what I gave to him for Christmas or birthdays. There was never money for us to exchange more than one gift, but it wouldn't have killed him to be grateful that I was trying to please him at all._

 _Was I really just that used to so much negativity?_

 _I'm hoping that this year will be better, though. I'm pretty sure that Dad isn't going to put up with me locking myself in my room for the day, since he's pretty insistent on having me around even for little celebrations. Besides, after everything he's done for me since the moment we met, it's going to be fun to shop for him._

 _But what do you get the guy that either has everything or can snap his fingers to get whatever he hasn't thought of yet? Here's hoping I'm clever enough to think of something he'll love, but I'm pretty sure that he'll be a good sport about it even if my gift doesn't suit him. He's the most even-tempered man I've ever had the honor to meet, even if he either laughs or stares at me with horror when I tell him so._

 _I wish all men were like my Dad. He doesn't put up with_ _ **anyone**_ _treating me like I'm less than a lady._

ooOoo

...Okay. Maybe running off on her own _wasn't_ such a good idea.

Yuki shivered in the cold, rubbing her mitten-covered hands over her arms as she kept walking.

Everything looked the same by now. Even if she wanted to forget this plan and go back to Machida's apartment, she wouldn't be able to retrace her steps. Snow was falling, gently but enough was coming down to cover her tracks. The pale child angrily knocked the coat of snow off her hat and shoulders and kept walking.

The streets were unusually quiet. Even at this early hour, she knew for a fact that there were still some people forced to work holidays, but you wouldn't think so to look at the streets.

Hearing a large car, Yuki ducked behind a random bush before turning to see who else was up and about.

Just a snow plow, but since it didn't exactly stop, she assumed that the driver didn't see her.

 _'After all, my hair is covered and there's no way he could have gotten a look at my eyes. People have sometimes tried to be nice to me before getting a good look.'_ Her heart gave a painful tug at the thought, but she forced herself to get up and keep walking after the snow plow was out of sight. _'This is a big world with billions of people. There's bound to be at least one person that will be my family.'_ But how could she know where to find that person? How would she even know who the right person is?

Hearing another car coming, Yuki immediately ducked into an opening that led to a park and got down low. _'Why am I doing this? For all I know, my new family's inside that car!'_

She immediately got a terrible feeling to replace the guilt, making her certain that was not the case. The large car sped past as if she didn't exist.

Without anything better to do, Yuki started walking down the sidewalk leading through the park, even though she could barely feel her feet or legs at this point. She kept rubbing her arms and breathing against her mittens to try to regain feeling in her fingers, but that seemed to do more harm than good, since the mittens became moist enough to let more cold through to her sensitive skin. Her lingering headache wasn't helping much, either.

 _'I_ _ **hate**_ _winter! Why didn't I wait to start looking until summer, or at least spring?! I shouldn't even be in a park, no one else is going to be... here...'_

Suddenly, Yuki smelled... well, she didn't know what to call it. The scent was unlike anything she had known before, piquing her curiosity. Following her nose, she kept walking through the trees and snow-covered bushes. The smell became stronger still, making her walk a little faster.

What could this new scent mean?

The small girl peeked around a large tree, not seeing anything at first... until taking a second look at the park bench.

The figure had her back to Yuki, sitting still enough that she had thought the older person was a statue at first. The thick snow on her hat and shoulders had helped enforce the mistaken image.

The new smell was coming from the strange woman. But... where was the other scent? If this was her perfume, her regular scent should be right underneath it. Yuki didn't know why, but she felt like she had to confirm this simple fact. She crept closer, trying to be as silent as possible.

It was a teenager, Yuki was certain of that much. Fairly slim build, shoulder-length brown hair that was sticking out of a knit hat. Her arms were folded, and she stared straight ahead, still not moving a single muscle.

 _'This is stupid, this is stupid, I'm going to get screamed at again_ , _'_ Yuki tried to warn herself off, but her feet disobediently walked around the bench in order to look at her face.

It was horrible. Not that the teenager was ugly, mind you. The girl was pretty enough. But... the look in her brown eyes was terrible. She seemed to stare off beyond the snow-covered trees and random sidewalks, her expression filled with terrible self-loathing. Only the slight movement of her chest and foggy breath seemed to say that she was alive at all.

Yuki again looked at the thick snow on her hat and shoulders, matching the layer that was on her lap and arms, screaming louder than words that she hadn't moved in… oh, how could she tell? 'Too long' was a good enough answer.

How long was she going to sit like this? Yuki was only able to keep from freezing by constant movement, and she didn't want this girl to die out here.

Taking in a deep breath for courage, she slowly reached out and placed one hand on a snow-covered knee.

The older woman immediately snapped out of her daze, blinking in surprise with a startled gasp as she looked down at the child next to her. Her mouth fell open in complete astonishment. Her large eyes locked onto Yuki's, but... something was different about it this time.

There was no fear. No, wait, there was a little, but it was getting replaced by something else that the child couldn't name.

After a whole minute of staring at her, the older girl said something in a strange tongue. Her tone was soft, warm, and somehow managed to erase the last of poor Yuki's headache. Or was it the sweet smile on her face as she said it?

That smile was all it took to make the woman _beautiful_.

Almost as soon as the phrase passed her lips, she suddenly looked mortified, and her cheeks flared red with embarrassment.

The woman suddenly got a good look at herself, smiling a little sheepishly as she wiped the thick snow off her hat, coat, and pants with gloved fingers. She opened her mouth to say something else, but for some reason couldn't quite make herself speak to Yuki again.

The thought scared the child. Did the stranger already not want her around? The white-haired girl shivered in the cold, taking a step backward just in case.

"No, wait," the woman pleaded, finally speaking in a tongue Yuki understood. She tried again to say something, but couldn't quite make herself spit it out.

Trying a different tactic, the woman slipped off the bench, got to her knees in the thick snow, and held her arms out to Yuki with a hopeful expression.

The tiny girl gaped at her at first. _'She..._ _ **wants**_ _a hug? From_ _ **me**_ _?'_ But after a second of hesitance, she slowly stepped into the strange woman's embrace.

 _ **Safe**_.

Yuki broke down crying, the first time in over a year that anyone had heard her voice without forcing a bath on her. But the woman wasn't upset with her, since her own tears were running freely. The brunette squeezed the girl like she never wanted to let go. She even pressed multiple kisses to Yuki's hat as a disbelieving laugh managed to escape her lips.

"You... you have _no_ idea how long I've been waiting to meet you, Sweetheart."

Sweetheart. No one's ever called her that before! Yuki instinctively nuzzled her face against the woman's heart, feeling happier than she could ever remember.

The brunette nuzzled her head through the hat lovingly before forcing herself to push the girl away, but only enough to lock tearing eyes with her. "Where is your mommy, Sweetheart?"

Yuki didn't hesitate, pointing her finger directly at the woman. _'You are_ _ **perfect**_ _for the job!'_

She gaped a bit in surprise, but took a breath as she took a careful look at Yuki's complete appearance.

The small child felt uncomfortable at that kind of attention. Her clothes may have been clean but they were still on the worn ugly side. No one had ever seen the point in getting her nice clothes.

The young woman took in a deep breath before looking the girl square in the eyes. "Let me try again. Is there... anyone besides me?"

Yuki shook her head, pushing forward enough to soak in the woman's warm arms again.

"... I see. Well, don't worry, Sweetheart," the brunette told her as she got to her feet, keeping the tiny girl in her arms. "You're going to be just fine, I promise. My name's Haru," she introduced herself as she started marching down the snow-covered path.

Yuki opened her mouth to speak... but couldn't make herself find the words. Did she forget how to speak?

Haru looked at her as she kept marching. "Can you tell me your name?"

Yuki's gaze fell down to her fists, feeling incredibly nervous about speaking to anyone, let alone this angel.

After a minute of silence, Haru sighed and kissed her forehead.

Even her _lips_ were surprisingly warm.

"Don't worry about it, Sweetness. I'm sure you'll talk when you're good and ready."

Yuki could feel herself melt with happiness as she cuddled the best she could against Haru. Her little arms came up to wrap around her neck, and refuse to let go.

She had been wrong. The strange smell _was_ Haru's personal scent.

ooOoo

"This is just standard procedure, don't worry about a thing," Haru whispered after she paid the taxi driver and quickly took the steps up to a concrete building Yuki didn't recognize. "I'll find a way to convince them you're best off with me, I promise."

 _'Convince who? This isn't where I'm taken to trade homes.'_

But the inside of the building was just as cold as Haru let herself in, keeping Yuki in her arms as she walked down the small entryway and to the desk where a middle-aged man in a uniform had been dozing.

"Zzz.. ach, what? Can I help you?" he managed to slur after Haru gently nudged one of his shoulders.

Haru gave him a gentle smile while hiking Yuki comfortably back onto her hip. "Actually, I was hoping that we could help each other out. You see, I found this girl in the nearest park. There was no one else in the area-"

"Oh, that happens all the time, miss. Feel free to leave and we'll take care of her." He waved dismissively, though his own eyes were large as they locked onto the girl's strange ones.

Yuki could feel Haru's arm muscles tense from the man's curt response.

"I wasn't finished, sir," the brunette said firmly, giving the man a stern look while turning her angelic voice a shade deeper. "Until her family is located, I wish to look after her myself." She started rummaging through a coat pocket as the officer gave her a very amused look.

"That's very sweet of you, young lady, but I'm afraid that we'll need someone a bit older with experience to keep an eye on the girl. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be with your own family? It's Christmas, after all, and we wouldn't want _your_ parents getting worried about you."

 _'… She doesn't have a family, either!'_ Yuki realized in horror. _'Why else would she have been at the park alone on Christmas?'_

Haru looked up at him with a glare, handing the man two small business cards from an inside pocket of her long blue coat. "I will have you know that I'm older than I look, and I was my hometown's champion babysitter when I _was_ a teenager. Here is my agent's number as well as the manager's for the place I was working last night. Both will be willing to vouch for my dependability, and I don't mind you doing a bit of background research on me. This young lady and I are willing to wait. Are you getting hungry, Sweetheart?" she cooed, her tone turning much softer as her attention returned to the child in her arms.

Yuki's stomach roared before she was able to nod, making the poor girl blush scarlet with embarrassment. _'I never did get some of Machida's turkey.'_

"Please excuse us," she informed the officer, who was staring at one of the business cards with a gaping mouth. Haru immediately turned away to approach one of the vending machines lining the walls.

Yuki breathed out a sigh of relief that it wasn't one filled with junk food.

"How about a yogurt cup?"

The pale girl quickly shook her head with distaste.

"No? What about the apple slices?"

Yuki nodded eagerly for those.

"And some milk?"

A shake of the head.

"Apple juice?"

That was okay.

"I'll get you more food when we're done here, Sweetie," Haru promised, making quick work of the order.

But Yuki's ear twitched as she heard the officer whisper harshly into a phone behind them.

"No, I'm _not_ kidding! Yoshioka-sama is down here with a child! So sue me, she looks different up close!"

Yuki cocked her head in confusion. _'Up close?'_

"Ah, here we are," Haru cheered gently, grabbing two apple packets and a juice box before sitting down on one of the many chairs lining the walls, with the girl on her lap. "Allow me, Sweetheart."

Two rips later, and Yuki was nearly inhaling the apple slices. They weren't her favorite type, but at least they weren't smelly enough to make her sick in front of what she hoped would become her new mommy.

" _Chew,_ sweetie," Haru urged, poking the straw through the top of the box as the officer got off the phone.

"My superior will be down in just a few minutes, Yoshioka-sama. Please accept my apology for doubting a word you said," the officer nearly begged, his eyes strangely wild with panic. "I wasn't looking for trouble, I swear!"

"Wonderful. I wasn't looking for it, either," Haru answered calmly, gently rocking Yuki as she sucked up the juice as well.

 _'Why does that man suddenly look so scared of her?'_

ooOoo

It wasn't just that officer, either. The handful of policemen were all overly polite to her, but their eyes constantly darted back to the young woman that had brought her here.

But why? Did these men know her? Yuki shoved her hat back on the moment the policemen were done taking her picture and started on taking fingerprints, although she didn't like them touching her hands like this.

"How much longer, Chief?" Haru asked, making the man flinch before answering.

"Just these last few fingerprints and we should have everything we need. With how... _unique_ the girl is, it shouldn't take much to find out where she belongs."

"Wonderful. Here's a card to the hotel I'm staying in, I will inform the manager of the situation and tell him you are allowed immediate access to me when you find out more. Oh, wait, I better write my cell number on it first," the brunette realized, borrowing a pen from the man in order to do so. "I will be in Japan for two more weeks, solely for vacation. I promise that the little lady will be well taken care of."

"I pity anyone that would try to harm her with _you_ standing guard," the chief muttered under his breath, accepting her card while giving one of his own. "This is my number; if you find out any other details, or she starts talking, feel free to inform me immediately."

"Happily. So, what do you say, Sweetheart?" Haru asked, a silly smile working onto her face as her large brown eyes fell on the white-haired girl. "Shall we go get some nice hot food in your stomach?"

Since the two officers finally finished with fingerprints Yuki nodded eagerly, hopping off the stool she had been forced onto and running into the brunette's open arms.

 _ **Safe**_. She sure hoped that Haru's embrace always felt like this.


	3. Understand

**Chapter Three: Understand**

" _And for once, it might be grand to have someone..._ ** _understand_** _."_

 _-Belle, Disney's Beauty and the Beast_

 **xxXxx**

 _What really hurts is that no one tried to understand why I was like that. It should have been obvious that I was a victim of abuse, even with my lies and the old man knowing where to hit so that I didn't have to cover a place what would have been suspicious. All it would have taken to end my pain was for one school official to call a child services agent to check over all the rooms and ask where I slept. We didn't even have a guest room that the old man could pretend was mine._

 _Guest room. Ha! As if anyone would be willing to stay around the old man longer than he had to. Other than_ ** _her_** _, that is. But even when I was still under their thumb, I sometimes considered them to be one and the same person. Their personalities certainly matched up._

 _The only difference was that_ ** _she_** _has beauty and charm. The old man is a case of looking exactly as he truly is._

 _I bet_ ** _she_** _wouldn't have had so many friends if she had looked the way she really is. I used to think that I was exactly like the way I looked, but the way Dad talks to me, even looks at me..._

 _It doesn't help that I want him to be right, because he sees something completely different than anyone else tries to see._

xxXxx

It happened again at the hotel. It was a lot nicer than Yuki had ever seen before, but the people that worked there were more than eager to obey Haru's every wish, even though Yuki could see the same disdain in their eyes that everyone but the older woman seemed to have when they looked at her.

As little as the hotel workers wanted her around, they weren't willing to breathe a word of it to her new friend.

"Thank you for your time," Haru thanked the manager, hiking Yuki's weight more comfortably on her hip and hugged her tight while walking to the elevator. "You're going to like our room, Sweetheart. It's nice and warm, plenty of space for both of us."

Yuki smiled and tightened her grip on Haru's neck. They could be heading for a cold storage room again, and it would still be a dream if she just got to stay with this angel.

Haru pressed the appropriate button to make the elevator close and start moving. "I hope you didn't get upset about the business with the police station, Sweetie. It's a lot smarter to have your bases covered just in case." She squeezed Yuki again, a silly smile growing back on her face now that they were alone again.

… Huh. Was it her imagination, or was this elevator taking longer than normal? Yuki checked the little dots above the door, surprised at the sheer number of them as the light slowly moved one dot at a time.

"It's going to be a few more minutes, Sweetheart. We're near the top floor. But look at the bright side; at least we don't have to take the stairs! Man, that would be a marathon by itself," Haru laughed, leaning against a wall of the elevator. After a few minutes of not thinking of anything else to say, she amused herself by rubbing one hand over Yuki's back and humming a sweet melody into one ear.

Yuki didn't realize she had fallen asleep until Haru was shifting her weight a bit in order to poke around her pocket.

"Sorry, Sweetheart. Just looking for the room key," the brunette explained while letting them through a door.

The pale-haired girl stared in shock around the suite. It was bigger than Machida's entire apartment! But it was warmer and much more inviting in a theme of red and gold.

"Okay, first things first," Haru chirruped while picking up a small booklet that had been left by the door. She started leafing through it with one hand while making her way to a couch, sitting down in a way that Yuki was on her lap again. "Hmm... no... no... yeah, you don't really strike me as a 'macaroni and cheese' kind of girl."

Yuki didn't bother hiding her disgust this time, especially since it made Haru laugh.

"Called it. Drat it, this menu isn't very child-friendly. Say, are you all right with fish?"

Yuki couldn't help but wonder what kind of fish she meant. Hopefully not fish fingers. Last time someone tried to feed her those, garlic had been involved. As well as a strangely stubbed toe.

"How about I order one of my favorite dishes, and you take a bite. If you don't like it, I'll finish it for you and we'll try again. Deal?"

Yuki smiled and nodded happily. _'Why can't everyone be as nice as my new mommy?'_

Haru stole another kiss to her forehead, taking off her hat to do so before picking up a nearby phone. On instinct the girl reached for her hat, but Haru still kept it away.

"I know this room is warm enough, Sweetheart. If it's about your hair, don't worry. I think I know how to help with the tangles, even if it's a bit of a cheat."

Yuki stared at her in shock.

"You can explore the room a bit if you'd like. This shouldn't take long," the brunette promised as she began undoing the buttons of the girl's coat.

Wait, she had permission to explore? But what if she broke something again? Feeling a bit nervous, Yuki got off Haru's lap, accepting her help with removing the coat.

"Go ahead, make sure your limbs still have circulation while I place the order," Haru urged before picking up a phone and dialing.

Yuki looked around the large room again, wondering what to explore first. The room they had entered was something out of a movie, but she could see a bed nearly framed in a room just beyond this one.

If it were possible to translate a throne into a bed, it would have looked much like that one, even if the covers were messed up and half the pillows were on the floor. Trying not to see if her new mother was watching, Yuki picked up all the pillows and placed them back on the bed.

"Hello, room service? What is your fish selection looking like?"

Yuki looked around the bedroom a bit more, feeling a bit out of place from something that would have been at home in a castle. Hoping she wasn't stepping out of bounds, she opened up the closet out of curiosity.

Her mouth fell open in wonder. At first glance it looked like there had been a moonbeam hanging off the hanger, but a second glance revealed it to be a silvery fabric. Yuki tugged on it slightly to see it better, but accidentally made it slip right off the hanger.

 _'Oh no! Please don't let me mess this up!'_

"... Actually, could you bring up two plates of that with water and a fruit basket? Not a problem, thank you for your time. Are you doing all right in there, Sweetie?" Haru called out while hanging up.

Yuki tried desperately to reach a hanger before her friend caught her, but wasn't able to reach that high without help.

Haru popped her head into the bedroom, blinking at the silvery dress on the ground and the guilty child. "Oh dear," she giggled, walking over to pick up the dress. "Did you want a good look at this, Sweetheart?"

Yuki gaped at her. _'She's not mad?'_

Although she didn't receive an answer, Haru still pressed the gown against her front for the child to see. "I wore this to work last night."

Yuki cocked her head, feeling a bit confused. _'What was she doing last night for a pretty dress like that? How does she afford to vacation in a place like this?'_

"Good and bad news on food," Haru reported while nonchalantly easing the dress back onto a hanger. "They have what I want and I'm pretty confident you'll love it. But since it's going to take a while to make it and bring it up, we have enough time to give you a bath."

 _'_ ** _Bath_** _?'_ Yuki though in horror, diving for under the bed like her life depended on it. _'Oh no, please no, I don't need a bath!'_ She couldn't fight back the shakes racking her body from sheer terror.

Haru poked her head under the bed, lifting up layers of fabric to do so. "I promise not to hurt you," she stated in a puzzled tone.

The child continued to shake, huddling herself into the tiniest ball possible while using her eyes to beg the woman not to force this on her.

After a minute of carefully studying her little guest, Haru gained a strangely dark look in her eyes. "Are you afraid of water, Sweetness?"

Still shaking, Yuki was able to nod. _'It's wet, it's disgusting, and makes my hair smell awful!'_

"Ah. Don't worry, that's easy to take care of," she promised, dropping the bed skirts in order to walk around the hotel suite.

Yuki's blood froze in horror as she heard running water, although it thankfully wasn't on for long.

After a bit longer, Haru poked her head under the bed again with a serious expression. "Do you trust me?" she asked, not beating around the bush.

Yuki stared at her in shock. _'… No one's ever asked that before.'_

"If you want me to be your mother, Sweetheart, then you're going to have to learn how to trust me. Do you really think I want to hurt you?"

 _'_ ** _Hurt_** _? I don't think you know how!'_

Haru held out her hand, her eyes pleading for the girl to take that first step.

Taking in a deep breath, Yuki wiggled out enough for Haru to grab and pull her in a tight embrace.

"Everything's going to be fine, Sweetheart," the older girl soothed her while carrying the child into the bathroom.

Huh. Why was there a bowl of soapy water in the bathtub?

After locking the door, Haru put Yuki down and started undressing... _herself?_ "Can you remove your own clothes?"

Yuki gaped, staring at the white marks covering the brunette's body in a bizarre pattern. Her skin was already pale, but there was a strange puffiness to the small white lines that almost made the young woman look like a porcelain doll that had been repeatedly glued back into one piece.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Are my scars going to bother you?" her new mother asked worriedly, only noticing the girl's stare once she was undressed.

The child snapped out of her trance, shaking her head while removing her own clothes.

Haru breathed a sigh of relief while scooping the girl into her arms and stepping into the tub with her, sitting the child on her lap once more. "Believe it or not, I was scared of water growing up, too. This is how I had to take my baths when I was your age."

Yuki looked up at her with confusion before feeling something slightly rough and damp start rubbing her back. She turned enough to see it was just a washcloth.

"Shh, you're safe, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you," Haru soothed her before humming a gentle melody.

Yuki sighed happily, cuddling into Haru's embrace with a sleepy smile. This kind of bath felt... _nice_! Almost like a giant tongue was licking her clean. Almost half-mindedly, she pressed her fingers against the two stranger scars on Haru's left shoulder.

The perfectly round ones.

ooOoo

Yuki could feel her shoulder being gently nudged before a warm, gentle voice brought her out of sweet oblivion.

"Sweetie? Lunch is ready when you finish waking up."

The white-haired child stretched her body while yawning happily, though she was surprised to see herself in an oversized shirt that smelled just like Haru. She could faintly smell that the woman had snuck in washing her hair while she was asleep, but at least she had managed to dry her hair out enough to keep it from stinking too much.

The older girl smiled nervously when the little girl gave her a confused look. "I'm sorry, I couldn't make myself put you in those rags just yet. But don't worry, we'll get you some real clothes tomorrow when the stores open back up, and I think hotels this fancy sometimes provide spare clothes. Not sure if they'll have your size, but it's worth at least asking. Are you ready for a hot meal yet?"

Yuki nodded eagerly, although she had slight difficulty wiggling herself out of the massive bed. _'No wonder she was a master babysitter! I was tucked tighter than a sushi roll!'_ But at least she had been warm and comfortable. After being extracted from the covers, she eagerly followed her hopefully new mother to the dinner table where two covered dishes were waiting for them in between a nice big basket of fruit.

 _'Just like in the movies!'_ Yuki happily hopped onto a chair before Haru scooted it closer to the table.

"Now presenting... your lunch!" Haru announced dramatically enough to make the girl stifle a giggle as she pulled off the silver cover.

A wave of delicious smell hit the girl squarely in the face, enough to remind her that she hadn't eaten a square meal in... no. She'd been more or less living off bits of food that weren't touched by whatever nasty stuff was making her constantly nauseous.

"Would you like me to cut it... no, looks like you've got this," Haru stated numbly as Yuki savagely began attacking her large piece of fish, flavored only with lemon juice and side of steamed vegetables. For once, none of the vegetables were the kind to make her sick!

By the time Yuki had finished inhaling her lunch, Haru was only starting on her own food.

"I'm going to have to insist on teaching you table manners, Sweetie. But since it's Christmas, I'll let this slide. Do you want me to order you another plate, or do you think the fruit bowl will take the rest of the edge off?" she asked curiously.

Yuki seriously considered the question while drinking her water, but eventually patted the fruit bowl. _'Just don't try to force me to eat the grapes or oranges, and I'll be good.'_

Haru smiled happily, swallowing her mouthful of fish before speaking. "You know what? This is the nicest Christmas I've had in years. I mean, it's probably a bit on the tame side for you-"

Yuki shook her head furiously, escaping her chair in order to run to the other side of the table and take over her lap again. _'This is the first time I can remember someone being this kind to me! It's my best Christmas ever!'_

Haru sighed in complete bliss, cuddling Yuki close as if she were a doll. "I really was waiting for you for a long time, Sweetheart. I mean, I wasn't expecting to meet you _today_ , but... I'm sorry, this probably sounds creepy from a near stranger."

Yuki squeezed her by the neck while shaking her head. _'I was waiting for you, too. Well, searching, in any case.'_

"How about I summarize?" Haru asked, tilting the girl's head just right to lock eyes with her. " **You** , young lady, are my answered prayer. Or, maybe I'm yours, or maybe a bit of both. It's... really nice not to have to spend another Christmas alone. Just between us, this time of the year is a little prejudiced to those without families."

 _'Understatement!'_

Haru sighed happily while squeezing the girl. "If things work out according to plan, it's not going to be the last nice Christmas for either of us. If you're still hungry, you're welcome to my vegetables. I think the fish about has me full."

Yuki wasted no time inhaling them as well.

ooOoo

Yuki tried not to squirm in her chair within the bathroom as Haru carefully cut and snipped at the knots in her hair, being as gentle as possible as knot after knot fell into the wastebasket between them.

Her hands ran through the greatly shortened hair, searching for more tangles. "I'm going to go ahead and apologize again; this is only turning out a _little_ better than last time I cut hair. Of course, last time it was with a sword-"

Yuki swiftly turned enough to look at Haru in surprise.

"It was for work, don't worry," she soothed the child, turning her head back so that she could finish her work. "Good thing I was already planning on visiting a hair salon to finish the job tomorrow. I bet your hair is _gorgeous_ without knots."

Yuki stiffened in complete shock. No one had ever complimented her hair before!

"It's too bad I'll have to wait a few months to really see for myself. But it's not hard to see that you have soft hair, and such a pretty color. It reminds me of snow, or swan feathers."

The tiny child turned around again, not bothering to hide her shock.

"... No one's told you before, have they?" Haru asked, not needing much time to translate the girl's confusion. Setting aside the scissors for now, Haru gathered the girl into her arms and squeezed her tightly. "Is that at least _partially_ why you were wandering around by yourself this morning?"

Yuki nodded, still not able to think the appropriate words for someone complimenting something that she took a lot of trouble to hide.

Haru saddened, but couldn't resist sneaking a kiss to her forehead. "I guess I know what your bedtime story's going to be tonight."

The blue-eyed girl blinked in surprise.

"Yes, I tell stories. And sing lullabies. And love cuddling." She sighed overdramatically while pressing the back of one hand to her forehead. "Sorry to inform you of this, but I'm planning on spoiling you too rotten to bother with anyone that treats you as less than a treasure. You will just have to find a way to cope, my little lady."

That did it. Yuki broke down crying again, throwing her arms around Haru's neck and gripping her too hard for the woman to pry her off.

Not that Haru really tried to make her let go. She was enjoying this hug just as much as the pale child.

"Let's call it an early night, sweetie," the brunette crooned, picking up Yuki and heading into the bedroom. "Just let me change into my pajamas, and you'll get your story. It's one I think you need to hear."

Yuki eagerly slipped under the covers and waited patiently for Haru to change, even if she had to return to the bathroom first.

There weren't a lot, but there _were_ some small scars on her face when she exited the bathroom. She must have been hiding them with makeup. Yuki blinked in surprise at the _thing_ her friend pulled out of a dresser drawer.

That... didn't look like it was bought. One hand rose up to hide a giggle that desperately wanted to escape.

"No laughing!" Haru commanded after popping her head through the opening and arranging the neckline more comfortably. It somewhat resembled the long nightgowns from old-fashioned movies, but was made from a thick fleece decorated with butterflies.

Needless to say, the effect was more than slightly funny.

"I know this looks silly, but it's warm! Looking silly is a small price to pay for warmth," Haru insisted before dimming the lights and slipping into the bed next to her. Just as she was pulling the covers over their bodies, she stopped. "I'm sorry, do you feel comfortable sleeping in the same bed?"

Yuki nodded without hesitation, still stifling a laugh as she inched close enough to snuggle the brunette.

Haru wrapped one arm around her, her large brown eyes filled with warmth as she stole another kiss to the forehead. "As I seem to remember, I promised you a story. You've been taking little naps on me all day, so you're going to need a little extra help getting to sleep."

Yuki nodded politely, although she was still grinning. _'This is the first time anyone's told a story just for me.'_

"Here it goes. Once upon a time, many years back, there was a mother duck that lived very close to a simple farm. Well, mother duck wasn't quite accurate yet, because she was still waiting for her children to hatch from their eggs. She was excited, though a little worried about the biggest egg. It was much bigger than the other eggs, and even colored differently.

"By the time the eggs hatched, she realized that wasn't the only thing different about that egg. Not only had it taken longer to hatch than the smaller ones, but the resulting duckling was bigger, grey instead of yellow, and with a large black bill instead of a small orange one. All her relatives and friends that laid eyes on that duckling felt no guilt about saying to his face that he was the ugliest thing they had ever seen."

Yuki looked away from her new mother, feeling a sick pit in her stomach. She knew this story, but **hated** the next part. It was a little too close to what she lived through every day.

"The other ducks and chickens eventually drove out the ugly duckling, forcing him to find a new home far away from the only family he had. A flock of geese, other ducks and a farm, even an elderly lady with no company but a cat and a chicken. It didn't matter where he went; he was never allowed to stay for long. Sometimes it was for other reasons, but somehow his looks always ended up playing at least a part in why no one really wanted him around.

"After a long painful winter alone, some of the most beautiful birds he had ever seen came down to his lake while he was hiding in the shadows. They had long elegant necks, snow-like feathers, and a grace that made his broken heart ache. Without thinking, he came out of the shadows and bowed himself to the beautiful swans, praying that they would at least be merciful enough to kill him and end his pain.

"But when he looked up, he noticed that _all_ of the swans were instead bowing even lower to him, as if he were their king. Still confused, his eyes trailed to his reflection in the still water. Much to his own amazement, he had turned into a swan, even more beautiful than the ones he was willing to throw his life to."

Haru snuggled the child closer, her eyes strangely dark as she finished the story. "You know something that's always annoyed me about that story?"

 _'That it sets up false hope for children that aren't pretty?'_ Yuki longed to comment.

"I've seen baby ducks with my own eyes. I've seen baby swans with my own eyes. Both are completely adorable, even if I like baby swans more. If anyone from around that area had ever peeked into a swan's nest, they would have known from the beginning that the 'duckling' was never ugly. It was just something they weren't used to seeing in such a mundane place."

Yuki could feel Haru tilt her chin again, forcing her to lock eyes with her new friend.

"Sometimes, when people say 'ugly', what they really mean is 'different'. They don't know how to handle when someone breaks their ideals of how things should be, how someone should look or act if they want to live a normal life without any silly drama that they don't even want."

Yuki's unusual blue eyes widened, taking in every word that Haru spoke.

The older girl lingeringly rubbed a cheek against the poorly cut hair, taking care to plan out her exact words. "I'm not going to lie, Sweetheart. You are unlike anything I've seen in real life. But I can still see your beauty just fine, because I know what it's like to be... _different_. To be an outsider that no one wants around." Her eyes had turned sad at admitting something so painful. But it was here that she gave the child a slightly wicked grin. "If there is anything you learn from me, Sweetheart, it's that there's nothing wrong with being different, and just how much _fun_ it is to prove all those small-minded morons dead wrong."

Yuki smiled happily, keeping her arms around Haru's neck and cuddling as close as humanly possible. _'_ ** _Definitely_** _the best Christmas ever!'_


	4. Makeover Time!

**Chapter Four: Makeover Time!**

 _Oh, this is going to be perfect! It's_ _ **makeover time**_ _!_

 _-Genie, Broadway's 'Aladdin'_

 **xxXxx**

 _The first time I was allowed to wear a dress, I had just turned eighteen. I know the wardrobe people thought I was crazy for feeling like a lady when I tried on the 'peasant' dress first, since it was plain and covered everything. Frankly, I liked it more than the 'showgirl' dress I was given later because... well, it still freaks me out when people can't stop staring at me. Especially after years of no one paying attention unless they want something from me._

… _On second thought, maybe it's not as different as I thought. The only thing that's really changed is that people_ _ **want**_ _to see what I can do instead of ordering me to do something while they do important stuff more worthy of their attention._

 _Ha, I say 'allowed' to wear a dress. I guess I could have bought at least one skirt after escaping the old man, but money was always so tight that I could barely keep a roof over our heads and food in our mouths. Even when there was a little extra money, it always went to_ _ **him**_ _so that he could fulfill his end of our little bargain._

 _It honestly scares me when I think of how much easier life would have been if I'd had the guts back then to run off on my own instead of waiting for someone to rescue me._

ooOoo

"...I'm afraid this is the best I can manage," the hair stylist apologized after she finished trimming Yuki's hair into pretty much a buzz cut. "There wasn't really a lot to work with."

"It's all right, you still did more than I did," Haru comforted the woman, still kneeling in front of the chair so she could hold Yuki's hand through the process to keep the child calm. "At least this way her hair won't be painful to comb anymore."

 _'Which is more than worth looking like a boy for a while,'_ Yuki decided, one eye wandering to the hat in Haru's free hand. Even if her new mother thought her hair was pretty, she still felt uncomfortable letting other people see how she looked.

"There we go! You're all done!" the stylist finally breathed with relief, making the girl jump off the chair before she could finish saying 'done'.

"They need to keep this, silly," Haru giggled while taking off the plastic cloth from around her neck. "Thanks again for making time for this appointment," she addressed the stylist, who was smiling nervously as she accepted the cloth.

"My pleasure, Yoshioka-sama. Really."

 _'… This one didn't have to be told who she is, either. Odd.'_

ooOoo

… Was there really no end to the surprises with Haru? She had been expecting her new friend to take her to a plain old clothing store, but the woman had instead taken her to a _beautiful_ store filled with such pretty clothes just for little girls!

Yuki couldn't resist twirling in the latest dress, admiring how the sugar pink skirt flared out like a flower in the three mirrors facing her.

"Okay, I'm going to assume that one's as good as sold, Yoshioka-sama?" the shop girl helping them asked with a laugh.

"Definitely. My little guest is _bent_ on killing me with her cuteness," Haru agreed with a ridiculously happy smile, staring at nothing but the equally happy little girl while sitting outside the dressing room.

Yuki couldn't resist hopping off the stool in order to steal a hug from around Haru's neck. _'Thank you so much! I feel like a princess!'_

A gentle kiss against her shortened hair made it clear that Haru could feel her gratitude. "I wish every little girl had at least one dress to make her feel like this," she said wistfully while holding Yuki close.

"Yeah. Only in a perfect world, right?" the shop girl responded, looking a little sad herself.

"Right." But then Haru forced herself to shake off the melancholy and flash a smile at Yuki. "Let's see, we've already got winter-friendly clothes, pajamas, something formal just in case, underwear and socks... am I forgetting something?"

 _'A coat that isn't shabby?'_

"Shoes?" the shop girl asked.

"Oh, thank you! Winter boots first, inside slippers, then cute slippers to wear with that dress," Haru promised, holding Yuki's hand as they followed the shop girl to the shoe section of the pretty boutique.

"You know, she kind of looks like she stepped out of one of your movies," the shop girl mentioned slowly while measuring one of the child's feet, looking at Haru as if she would turn violent at such a statement.

 _'Wait,_ _ **movies**_ _? She's a movie star?'_ Yuki thought with surprise.

"I know!" Haru gushed with a silly smile, still staring at the small child like she couldn't believe her luck. "It's taking all my will power not to accidentally call her 'Yuki' or-"

The blue-eyed girl snapped her head upward, gaping at her new mother with an open mouth.

"... Wait, don't tell me. That _is_ your name?" Haru asked, her foolish expression turning a little more embarrassed.

All Yuki could do was nod dumbly.

"I guess whoever named her saw those movies," the shop girl said numbly while looking up boots in the girl's size. "I'm pretty sure 'Yuki' is almost simultaneous with your name by now."

 _'Wait, what movies?'_

Haru only shrugged. "Not necessarily. With hair like that, it's possible that they just couldn't think of a more fitting name."

The helping hand didn't quite give up, though. She continued, even as she tugged a pair of cute winter boots onto the girl's feet. "I mean, that would be a little cool, if you inadvertently had a hand in naming this girl. It'd be almost like destiny, don't you think?"

Haru gave a melting smile to a still bewildered Yuki while taking out her cell phone and a familiar card. "I honestly believe it was. Sorry, Sweetheart, but the police chief will appreciate this bit of information."

" _I'll_ appreciate throwing those rags away," the shop girl muttered as she tried the first pair on Yuki's feet.

The girl scowled and tried kicking them off her feet. _'My toes are pinched!'_

"Now, don't fuss, we'll just try the next pair," the shop girl soothed while Haru kept one eye on them while waiting for the other side to pick up.

"Could we try the next size up? I want to make sure these shoes last a while. Hello, Chief?"

The store associate only nodded, though there was a slight scowl on her face.

Yuki swung her legs slightly after the boots were removed, all the while beaming at Haru. _'No one's ever thought this much for me.'_ She looked down, biting her lower lip in thought. _'I wish there was something I could give her. But even if I had my bag, there wouldn't be anything good in it. I never even have anything to put in my pockets. …Wait, did I?'_ She hopped off the chair to run back to the changing rooms.

"Hey, get back here!" the shop girl demanded, but Haru waved for her to calm down.

"Her name's Yuki. Yeah, I know; we should have seen it coming. Have you made any progress on her case?"

After finding her clothes, the tiny child rifled through the pockets in her old worn pants. After finding what she was after, she hid it behind her back and walked to Haru with a nervous expression. _'I know it isn't much, but... I don't have anything else to offer.'_

"Alright, at least her name should make things easier. Thank you, bye. What do you have there, Sweetheart?" the brunette asked while finishing the call.

Her hands were shaking a bit, but she still managed to offer the woman the folded and crumpled paper.

Haru took it, carefully smoothing and unfolding it with curious eyes until they saw Yuki's Christmas tree. "... Oh... my... _goodness_! This is adorable!"

Yuki beamed with relief. _'You like it?'_

"Hey, look at this! Isn't this just the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Haru gushed while showing the shop girl the paper.

"Um, yes. Cute," she replied uncomfortably.

Yuki's head immediately pounded with a familiar headache, making her whimper.

The older woman looked at her worriedly. "Don't worry, Sweetheart, we're almost done."

ooOoo

Yuki had entered the boutique in shabby hand-me-downs, looking like a street urchin. But when she left, there was no mistaking that she was a little lady.

Her long wool coat was the same sugar pink as her thick hat and warm new mittens, one of which was securely tucked inside Haru's glove as they walked down the line of stores. The woman's other hand was surprisingly empty, since she had arranged for the store to send Yuki's new clothes to their hotel room.

"You know, Yuki, you were such a good girl today. I've never had someone to exclusively dress up before," the brunette admitted while smiling foolishly. Her unoccupied hand was over her heart, where her coat pocket was holding the sketch the little girl had given her. "But your gift got me thinking; yesterday was Christmas, and you didn't have a single present to open."

Yuki shook her head, rubbing her cheek against Haru's gloved hand with affection. _'You're the only present I wanted.'_

"So before we head back to the hotel, we're going to slip in here," the brunette informed her while holding another store door open for Yuki to walk through first.

Yuki gasped at all the beautiful toys lining every shelf of the busy store. Most of the fuss from customers seemed to be around the returns desk.

"Pick just one toy, Sweetheart," Haru whispered into one ear, gently pushing her towards an aisle. "Something you will never get bored of."

Yuki resisted the impulse to turn and cling to the woman's legs, though she still snuck in another hug.

"I-I'm not a toy, Sweetheart!" Haru laughed, although her eyes were glowing warmly as she turned the child around and gently pushed her towards one of the aisles.

 _'Just take it easy. There's nothing to say she's getting bored of me yet.'_ Feeling a bit apprehensive, she started walking through the aisles, staring at everything on the shelves.

The first two aisles weren't that interesting; just electronic things and a bunch of books. She gave a longing look towards one book with a beautiful cover of what was more than likely Sleeping Beauty, but forced herself to keep looking.

No one had taught her how to read yet. She wasn't due to start school until January, although she had heard Machida moan more than once about how she was going to stay in a school long enough to learn anything.

… What kind of school would Haru take her to? Was there a place where she wouldn't be bullied or treated like a freak over her looks?

She kept walking, feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the toys. She had never been allowed a choice like this before! Any toy in this store... any one at all.

Her lungs sharply inhaled as her large blue eyes widened. Like a magnet, she marched toward the stuffed animals and reached between a large teddy bear and a stuffed dragon.

It was a small white bunny with eyes just as blue as hers! It fit perfectly into her arms as she gave it a big hug. She turned to excitedly show Haru, suddenly noticing that the woman had been following her.

Those warm brown eyes turned even warmer at the girl's choice. " _You_ , young lady, have very fine taste."

Yuki beamed happily at the compliment, suddenly noticing that the older girl had grabbed a few things while following her around the store.

But the one she found most interesting was the big book with Sleeping Beauty on the cover.

ooOoo

Sure enough, bags with the boutique logo were waiting for them by the time they made it back to their hotel room, but Haru didn't even look at them for now.

"All right, Yuki," she stated firmly, sitting with her on the couch while setting the bags from the toy store aside. "As much as I want to start playing with you or order our lunch, we need to start taking care of something first."

Yuki looked up at her, ready for anything as she held the little bunny to her chest.

"To get right to the point, I think you can talk just fine."

The small girl looked down at her new boots, wondering if she should keep silent. She had stopped talking... oh, she couldn't even remember the last time she had spoken to someone because of how pointless it had been.

Haru began gently brushing her fingertips over Yuki's nearly naked scalp, almost instantly soothing the child's nerves. "Unfortunately, I haven't forgotten how we met. Whatever happened to you before our paths crossed, I can tell it was bad."

Yuki could only answer that with curling up close to Haru's side with a haunted expression.

Haru wrapped her arm around her for a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going to force you to start speaking. Well, not with your voice, at least."

The child tilted her head up in surprise.

"I'm going to teach you sign language. That way you can stay silent as long as you feel like it, but you can still tell me anything you wish. Are you willing to learn?" the brunette woman asked with an almost shy smile as she began pulling off her coat.

Yuki nodded slowly, feeling even more love than before as she pulled off her own coat, hat, and mittens. _'Please don't let Haru be a dream! Please don't let Haru be a dream!'_

The brunette did a strange salute with one hand. "This is the sign for 'hello'. Can you do that?"

 _'That seems simple enough.'_ The pale girl repeated the gesture without trouble.

"That's my girl! This is goodbye..."

Hey, this was easy! No matter how many words Haru gestured at her, Yuki was able to follow and remember each one.

" _The grass is green, the sky is blue,_ " Haru recited while gesturing the phrase.

" _The grass is green, the sky is blue,_ " Yuki repeated before hesitantly adding a bit more. " _And... I... like... you._ "

Haru melted before sweeping the child into a deep embrace. "I like you too," she whispered before kissing Yuki's shortened hair.

The blue-eyed girl snuggled happily against the older one, still praying that this wasn't a beautiful dream.

Or if it was, that nothing was going to make her wake up from it.

The woman nuzzled her face against the child's minimal white hair. "... You know, I'm a little jealous. It took me a lot longer than this to catch onto sign language for one of my jobs."

 _'There's that 'jobs' again. Does she mean movies?'_

"But I promise I'm completely thrilled that you're so _clever_! Sure is going to make schooling for you easier." Haru snuggled Yuki the way she had been snuggling her new bunny earlier. "Say, Sweetie, after I order and we have dinner, what do you say to a dancing lesson? You wear your pretty dress and I'll wear mine."

Yuki beamed happily before licking her cheek. But just after doing it, she froze in horror.

She had meant to _kiss_ Haru's cheek! Why on earth did she lick it instead?

The brunette was a bit surprised at the odd gesture, but laughed it off before reaching for the hotel phone. "Goofball. How does lemon-pepper chicken with salad sound for tonight? No tomatoes?"

Yuki nodded eagerly, though she was a bit surprised at how dark it was outside. _'A day has never been this fast before!'_

ooOoo

 _Yuki's dreams that night were nothing but sweet._

 _First, Haru in her silver dress grew a pair of matching butterfly wings and tapped Yuki on the head with a pretty wand, forcing the filthy rags she was wearing to change into a pink dress fit for a princess. Then they began dancing, first in a great cloud of pink glittering mist before Haru picked her up by the waist and swung her once before sitting her on a gleaming white pegasus._

 _The wings were just as big and white as a swan's as they opened up and began flapping, Haru's wings doing the same so that they could fly together._

 _Yuki clung to the pegasus' mane as they rose higher and higher above the pink mist until reaching the stars, glittering like so many diamonds. Haru nonchalantly waved her wand to make some of the stars come loose from their place and form a necklace around Yuki's neck._

 _The child laughed happily, which made Haru laugh as they flew between heaven and earth in a completely happy and restful state..._

An annoying ring forced her to slip back into reality, although she kept her eyes shut in hopes of sinking back into the dream. Her shoulders suddenly felt cold as her new friend removed her arm in order to silence the ring.

"H... Hello?" Haru yawned, rolling onto her back and slightly away from Yuki.

The child's ears twitched, hearing the person on the line loud and clear.

" _Hello, Yoshioka-sama. I hope I didn't wake you._ "

The police chief!

Haru gave a long body stretch and sigh before answering. "I'll get over it. Did you find out more about Yuki?"

" _Yes, I did, but you're never going to believe it. She's from the Building Bridges Foster Program._ "


	5. Adopted

**Chapter Five: Adopted**

 _But what's even_ _ **more**_ _important, folks! This little orphan's dream has come true. Today, she's being adopted._

 _-News Reporter, Disney's 'The Rescuers'_

 **xxXxx**

 _So. Today was a very bittersweet day. I'm still scared over what I'm going to do without Dad's comforting presence in my life. I was wondering how I was going to even sit through the reading of the will without bursting into tears, but it turns out I didn't have to worry. What Dad left to me was enough to make the waterworks come to the point where even his lawyer was embarrassed._

 _Would you believe that two-timing snake disobeyed my direct wishes, went behind my back... and_ _ **adopted**_ _me just before dying? The nerve!_

 _But I'm still laughing that poor Drac's far more upset by the news than I am, even if I understand why. But then, this is a very upsetting time for him, too. I really should cut that boy more slack._

xxXxx

Haru didn't say anything for the longest time. Yuki could feel her heart pound in worry that whatever was making her new friend go quiet again, it wouldn't be enough to say goodbye.

" _Are you still there, Yoshioka-sama?_ " the police chief asked worriedly.

"... Y-Yeah, I'm here," the brunette forced herself to say, the bed shaking slightly as she forced herself to focus on the call. "I just wasn't expecting... _that_. What do they have to say about letting Yuki out of their sight?" she asked sternly.

" _The caseworker she had been staying with is cleaning out his desk as we speak. Apparently, he had forgotten that he even had her until I came by with inquiries._ "

 _'Good riddance,'_ Yuki couldn't help thinking, trying to fight back a satisfied smirk.

"How do you forget about having a _child_? Let alone one like Yuki?" Haru demanded to know, now fully awake. She managed to sit up on the bed, wiggling her arm out from under the child that had been sleeping in her arms.

The pale child didn't like this feeling at all. Haru's arms had been **warm**.

" _His responses were pitiful and weren't enough to pacify his superior. We have no choice but to inform the head of the foundation of this incident and perform an investigation on this branch, with or without his consent._ "

Haru wasted no time with her opinion. "I can guarantee the investigation will be with his whole-hearted consent. I won't put it past him to do a thorough cleaning of _all_ the branches when he finds out a child escaped his indirect care."

A nervous chuckle preceded the chief's next words. " _I suppose you would know about his responses better than I. When would be a good time for Takeshi-san to come by and pick her up?_ "

Yuki's heart froze in horror.

"How does 'never' sound to you?" Haru asked pleasantly. "But if he'd like to bring by adoption papers, would two hours from now work? How many references do I need?"

Despite pretending to be asleep, a wild smile of ecstasy filled the little girl's lips.

It was official! Haru wanted to keep her!

Though stunned, she could hear the surprised chief pass on the questions to someone else before obviously handing them the phone.

" _Um, Yoshioka-sama? Are you..._ _ **sure**_ _about this? We've had a lot of trouble finding even a foster home for Yuki_ ," Takeshi's familiar voice tried to reason.

Haru brushed that off without a thought. "That's because you didn't try _me_ yet. How many references do I need? I can get my hands on two within seconds."

"... _If one of them is who I think it is, just him will probably be enough. Actually, giving custody of Yuki to you might be the only thing to save me from his wrath._ "

The small child finally let her eyes open in confusion. ' _ **Who**_ _?'_

Haru gave a sound of agreement. "Well, firing the moron that forgot about her will probably take some of the edge off, too. Speaking of which, I hope that losing a child is a new experience. Because I'm _very_ disappointed about this."

Her voice had turned darker, and even… _scary_.

Yuki shook her head slightly on the pillow to clear her brief flicker of fear. _'No, I want her to be scary for him. He never really helped me whenever I got kicked out.'_

"It wasn't my fault," Takeshi pleaded in terror, but Haru cut him off with an angry snarl.

"No, but it _was_ your responsibility to keep every kid in the foundation safe. The only reason I'm not marching over there with one or more of my little toys is because _your boss_ will have you for breakfast when I tell him about this. Will two hours from now work for the papers?"

The man on the other end did a lot of panicked, labored breathing before giving an answer. " _That should give both of us plenty of time. Um, do tell him I'm cooperating with you to the letter, will you?_ " Takeshi nearly begged.

"I'll mention it," Haru promised before ending the call. Her expression slowly turned darker, more thoughtful.

Yuki didn't like that it was starting to take on the same appearance as the self-loathing from when they met. She sat up and placed a hand on Haru's to bring her back to the present.

Haru's eyes flicked to her in a second, much like they did the first time. A soft smile soon replaced the darker look. "... I guess you overheard?"

Yuki nodded happily, standing up in the bed in order to tackle the older girl with a hug.

"Wait, Sweetie. There's something we need to talk about before you get all excited," the brunette urged, forcing the girl to sit down again. She knelt by the bed and took the child's hands inside her own before taking in a deep breath. "I'm pretty sure by now that I have you convinced that I walked out of a fairy tale."

The pale girl nodded without hesitation.

Haru blinked at her own words before fighting back a bitter laugh. "Well, I guess from a certain point of view I did, but that's not the point! Yuki... people have approached me more than once about adoption or visiting a sperm bank when they weren't going after my love life. Do you know what I always told them?"

Yuki shook her head, waiting patiently.

"I always said that I'd never do it, because... I've done things. Horrible things. No self-respecting parent would want to explain things like that to a child, let alone their own." Haru bit her lip before a frustrated growl escaped her control. "Fine, I'll stop beating around the bush. I've... _killed_ before."

White eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"More than once," Haru forced herself to admit, now unable to look the girl in the eye. "The only reason I'm not in jail over any of them is because it was either self-defense or defense of someone else. And the kills in question were the kind that no one minded not having around anymore. I guess this explains why the police station was scared to death of me after I dropped a big hint to my identity, right?"

Although Yuki didn't think Haru had it in her to kill, she nodded. _'But how did a movie star get involved in that kind of thing?'_

"There are other things I've done that I'm not very proud of, but I think the killing is the biggest one. I'm sorry, I didn't want you to agree without knowing about that, at least." She started rubbing one arm from nerves. "I've also spent a good amount of time laughing at people that believe in love at first sight. They told me I was jinxing myself, but did I believe them? Of course not!"

It was about here that she was able to give a very loving look to Yuki. "I've also had a problem with lying. Well, lack of a problem. I've been doing it constantly since I was about your age, though my reasons have varied over the years. But you know what? When I first locked eyes with you... I didn't want to lie anymore! It was wonderful! I don't think I've told a single lie since we met!"

Yuki shook her head firmly, inviting herself to wrap her arms around Haru's neck for another snuggle. _'Yes, you're amazing. Now adopt me.'_

Haru had her arms around the girl in a heartbeat, squeezing her with so much love. "There are... other complications, too," she forced herself to admit. "I've been fantasizing about raising you, but the way I would do it is a little reclusive. I would have to do a bit of lying anyway to make people leave us alone because there are people that will... use you to hurt me."

 _'Who would want to hurt_ _ **you**_ _?'_ the girl couldn't help wondering.

"Or at the very least, they'll invade our privacy and turn things into a living nightmare. Yuki, about the only things I can guarantee if you become mine is that I will try my hardest to put your needs above my wants, but I will **never** be able to give you a father. I promise that when you turn twelve, I'll explain why. I'll explain _everything._ So... will you be my daughter?" Haru asked timidly.

Yuki beamed at her, nodding again before burying her face into the neckline of Haru's fleece nightgown. _'I want this more than anything!'_

"You... you have no idea how happy you've made me, Sweetheart," she tried not to cry, kissing the girl's shortened hair lovingly. "... Get dressed. I'll call my friend before ordering breakfast. I sure hope he's still awake," the brunette fretted while searching through the tussled sheets for her cell phone.

Yuki found the cell before her new mother, handing it over before hopping off the bed to go through her side of the dresser drawers.

The 'something formal just in case' would be just right for Takeshi to see her again.

It wasn't long before she could hear Haru speaking to someone, a man from the sound of it. But Yuki didn't recognize a word being exchanged, although there was no mistaking the gentle pleading in Haru's tone or the brief anger in the man's voice.

After a while, the man said something that had a warm promise in the tone, making Haru smile with relief before obviously thanking him warmly.

By the time the call was over, Yuki was dressed and ready to face anything.

Haru grinned at her before getting dressed herself. "He's promised to help us out and I was right about his view on the investigations. You're as good as mine."

ooOoo

Takeshi was on the edge of his nerves as he took in a deep breath and knocked on the hotel room door.

"Will you just relax? She's surprisingly mellow considering her... reputation," the chief hissed at him before the door opened.

Takeshi nearly fainted at being so close to this particular celebrity. But at least she didn't look bloodthirsty so much as she look annoyed.

"Please come in, this shouldn't take long," _the_ Yoshioka-sama invited with a guarded smile. "Did my reference contact you yet?"

"Y-Yes he did. Where is Yuki?" Takeshi asked while he and the chief entered the _beautiful_ hotel room.

"Just right there," Yoshioka-sama answered while casually pointing at the couch behind her.

The head of the Japanese branch of the Building Bridges Foundation took one look... and promptly dropped his jaw in shock.

Every time before today, all he had seen of Yuki was a scowling, freakish, self-underfed brat that trusted no one enough to take any proper care of her.

But instead of the usual scowl, there was a happy smile on her lips, and a touch of healthy pink on her cheeks. For the first time almost since she was a baby, her hair was tangle-free, even if it was cut extremely short. Even her clothes were neater than normal, making her look like a little secretary as she cuddled a small bunny toy. A partially done puzzle was sitting in front of her. As Yoshioka-sama sat down on the couch next to her, Yuki immediately moved to her lap, sighing happily as the dark-haired woman wrapped her arms around her like they had been made to do nothing else.

"Well! She's certainly looking better than she did on Christmas," the police chief managed to say first, taking a seat himself. "It's no wonder you were your home town's champion babysitter. Is everything all right?" he asked Takeshi, who was still staring at the pale child he barely recognized.

Slowly, he forced his eyes off Yuki to look at the **seemingly** harmless woman, ready to take this freak off his hands for good. "... I knew that doing the impossible is a mere weekday for you," he whispered, slowly pointing at the little girl. "But _this_!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the living legend answered, snuggling Yuki happily. "This little lady's been nothing but an angel for me since we met. You remembered the papers, right?"

Snapping back to his senses, he dragged one big chair a little closer so that he could place the appropriate file on the glass table between him. "I will need your signature here, here, and here. She's been eating whole meals, hasn't she?"

"More like she inhales everything I put in front of her," Haru answered, although her teasing smile was warm as she signed the papers and handed the pen to the police chief so he could sign on as a witness. "I think she has some allergies, but she's very good at self-monitoring."

Takeshi blinked in surprise. _'Wait, is_ _ **that**_ _why it was so hard to talk her into eating?'_ Still… "How did you talk her into baths? She _routinely_ creates havoc at the mere mention of one!"

Yuki gave an agreeing shrug before snuggling deeper into the woman's free arm.

"I promise she has no problems with how I clean her. Would you _believe_ how intelligent she is?" Yoshioka-sama asked while looking up with a proud smile. "I started teaching her sign language yesterday, and she can already form sentences!"

The child in question proved it by setting the bunny down in order to make a series of hand gestures.

"Oh, is that so? We'll see how well you handle English," she smirked before kissing the girl's forehead.

"Um, what did she say?" the police chief asked after he was done signing the papers.

"That sign language is easy. I really don't know how she managed to stay un-adopted this long." She emphasized her words by rubbing her face happily against the child's short white hair, making the child in question sigh in bliss while nuzzling the woman back.

Takeshi did some heavy breathing before asking one final question. "Yoshioka-sama, I hope you don't find this rude, but... have there been any... _incidents_?"

That one word was enough to make Yuki jump in horror.

"Incidents? Like what?" Yoshioka-sama asked curiously, not loosening her hold on the girl, though she had broken off the nuzzling to give the old man a quizzical look.

Takeshi took heart in how unconcerned she appeared, but it was better to know before her decision became set in stone. "Well, hasn't anything odd happened since meeting Yuki? I don't mind if it's trivial."

The brunette rested her chin on one hand, thinking carefully through the question as the child in her arms looked at her worriedly, _begging_ with her eyes to say 'no'.

"Actually, I can only think of one odd thing that's been happening since meeting Yuki," Haru mentioned after what was a long moment of silence.

The child in question braced in fear.

"I've been unbelievably _happy_." She gave a smile full of love to a very relieved little girl. "If that's the worst curve ball she has to throw at me, I'll be able to cope."

The tiny female hopped enough on her lap in order to wrap her arms around the woman's neck and hug her lovingly.

Well. That should be enough confirmation to satisfy him that this was the perfect home for 'the witch child'. He gathered up the papers in order to look through them carefully.

"How much will this cost?" Yoshioka-sama asked, wiggling a bit in order to poke around her jacket's inside pocket, possibly for her checkbook.

Takeshi only shook his head as he gathered the papers. "It won't cost you a thing. Your... _reference_ has already taken care of the financial end of the adoption."

"Hey, I didn't ask him to do that!" she snapped indignantly, making the elderly man raise his hands in fear.

"He ordered me to tell you 'Merry Christmas' when you raised a fuss! Please don't make me pick a side over this!"

"Oh, stop acting like I'm going to hit you if you breathe wrong," she scolded him with a stern look before holding her forehead with one hand. "... I guess I'll fight it out with him when Yuki and I get back to the States."

"Thank you. Here are her personal papers, such as they are. Machida doesn't remember where your bag is, Yuki."

Her light blue eyes flashed angrily as she resorted to sign language again.

"... You're _kidding_!" Yoshioka-sama demanded, but the girl firmly shook her head. "She says she doesn't want the bag, but... gah! If he weren't already fired I would track that moron down and gut him with a-" She forced herself to bite her own tongue as she looked down at the curious child in her arms. "Just... just tell him I would gut him for free if given the chance."

"R-Right. I believe that takes care of everything. If you'll excuse me, I need to get this filed immediately." He bolted for the door and was gone before she changed her mind.

The chief laughed a bit nervously at the sudden exit. "Umm... I guess I should leave, too. Thank you for making sure there's one less... well, no, you've already done more than that. Just... thank you for stepping up for the girl."

The brunette gave a loving look to the white-haired child before squeezing her like a favorite toy. " _Believe me_ , it's more than my pleasure."

ooOoo

Yuki breathed a deep sigh of relief as _her new mother_ escorted the police chief out of the hotel room as well.

Once the door was closed, another breath-taking smile was spread over the older girl's face as she turned to _her_ child. "I have a daughter... _I have a daughter_!"

 _'I have a mommy!'_ Yuki agreed, wearing a matching grin as she ran up for a hug.

Haru happily swung her around a few times before holding her close. "I'm a mother... I gave up on this _years_ ago. Thank you so much for proving me wrong, my little snowflake!"

Yuki tightened her grip on Haru's neck again, nuzzling happily against the woman's chin.

This... it was almost too good to be true! She once again made a silent wish that Haru was as wonderful as she seemed.

After a blissfully long moment of holding each other, Haru walked back to the couch and sat down again. "How about you finish the puzzle while I read up on your history?" she asked while reaching for the folder.

 _'What if the 'incidents' are in there?'_ Yuki thought in a panic, making a sudden kick at the folder to knock it out of Haru's hand.

"Sweetheart, that wasn't very nice," her _mother_ said sternly, setting her on the couch in order to collect the papers off the thick red carpet.

A smaller one caught Yuki's attention, making her slide down and grab it while Haru was gathering up all the bigger papers. Her mouth fell open at the worn picture.

… It was her birth parents. It _had_ to be, the woman in the picture had shoulder-length hair just as white as hers, and had blue eyes… that were completely normal. The man's eyes were blue as well, even if they were just as ordinary. His hair wasn't as unusual, but seemed to be striped with different shades of brown.

That wasn't fair. If her parents had normal eyes, how come she didn't?

The man had his arms proudly around the woman's, a loving smile on both of their faces as they cuddled close and beamed at the camera. One of the man's hands was resting on the woman's swollen belly.

 _'… What were my first parents like? Would they have been as nice as Haru- I mean Mom? I wonder if I'm going to be as pretty as my first mom when I grow up.'_

A choked sob distracted her from her thoughts. Feeling alarmed at the sound, Yuki looked up at her new mother, surprised at the tears flowing down her face. One hand was to her mouth as she stared in horror at the handful of papers in her other hand.

Yuki stood up in order to touch her shoulder in worry. _'Mom? Don't tell me you regret adopting me already.'_

Haru looked up at her, gently setting the papers on top of the puzzle in order to tackle the girl with a harsher hug than normal.

Yuki soaked in the affection, although she still didn't care much for those tears. Her new mom was _much_ prettier when she smiled.

"... Sweetheart, you've... you've got to know something _right now_!" the brunette gasped, forcing the girl away enough to lock eyes with her. "Your parents are _heroes._ The reason you were in foster care was because they had a choice between their safety and yours. They chose you. _Both_ of them!"

Yuki's little mouth opened a little in wonder.

The brunette's warm hands were on the girl's face, desperate for her to understand the simple fact. " _You were always loved,_ my... my sweet little lady. You deserve to know that. I'll give you more details about their deaths when you're old enough to handle it, but they would want you to know that you are worth dying for."

Like popping a water balloon, the child burst into tears, forcing herself back into her new mother's arms for some badly needed comfort.

Haru didn't bother with the couch this time, sitting on the carpet with Yuki on her lap as they both just cried and held onto each other.

After a while, Yuki was aware that she wasn't holding the photograph anymore. She looked around for it in a panic, but was happy to find it in Haru's gentle fingers.

Despite the fact that she had never met them, there was a warm smile of love as she gazed at the picture. "I see you take after your mother," she was eventually able to say, finally in control of herself to say a complete sentence.

Yuki nodded miserably, nuzzling the front of her new mother's soaked shirt.

The older woman pressed a reverent kiss to the photo. "... The only reason I'm keeping the picture is so I can have copies made. Their spirits will be more than welcome in our home, I promise."


	6. Greatest Gift

**Chapter Six: Greatest Gift**

 _The greatest gift and honor is having_ _ **you**_ _for a daughter._

 _-Fa Zhou, 'Mulan'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Haru was staring down at her lap in a long, coldly-lit hallway that was completely white, watching her hands wring at her long green dress worriedly as she rocked slightly in her chair. The dress in question had a long fresh rip in what was once a fairly tight skirt, but she had tucked it under her in such a way that her leg wasn't exposed. She tried not to think about how sore her hands were, since that only brought her mind back to... what had happened less than an hour ago._

 _Or at least the fact that she was in the nearest hospital the ambulance could reach in record time. It wasn't even for one of her own wounds for once._

" _Um, water, Miss Yoshi... Yoshio... I'm sorry, I've never been able to pronounce your full name," one cop said nervously while offering her a small paper cup of water._

" _I don't mind 'Haru', thanks," she managed to pull herself out of her depression enough to answer, taking the cup to sip it._

 _Not that she was thirsty, but at least it was a welcome distraction._

 _Since he was the one charged with keeping an eye on her, the young cop leaned against the same wall as the chair, sneaking worried glances at the young woman. "... I'm not sure how much of a consolation this will be for you, but out of all the people in Gotham-"_

" _Don't._ _ **Please**_ _. I know he's a monster but..." She looked down, feeling ashamed of herself. "It wasn't my place to let things go that far. I overreacted."_

 _The young cop hesitated before hesitantly laying a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort._

 _Her body immediately tensed as she swiftly leaned her body away from the touch. Her already large eyes became wider and panicked._

" _Sorry! Forgot that you don't like…" he apologized immediately, backing away until he was pressed against the opposite wall._

 _Now is_ _ **not**_ _the time to test her patience!_

 _His distance helped her calm down, as well as measured breaths that sounded suspiciously like counting. "I know you didn't mean anything. Thank you for respecting my phobia."_

 _The cop gave her a nervous smile, but didn't want to back down from his opinion. "If some bonehead had done that to my cousin, I'd have wanted her to do the same thing you did. It's about time he picked the wrong victim. Thank you for at least putting that_ _ **creep**_ _out of the picture for a few months."_

" _It'll be a bit longer than that," the commissioner contradicted as he approached, making Haru hurriedly stand up._

 _One hand came down to hold the rip closed as best as possible when she noticed the fatter cop with the commissioner was giving her leg the eye. She_ _ **hated**_ _it when people stared at her body parts like that!_

 _But at least the elderly commissioner was polite enough to nudge the fatter cop with a warning look, which made him pointedly start staring at his watch instead._

" _Did I put him in a coma?" she asked worriedly, although the sinking pit in her stomach was only sinking deeper at the commissioner's strange expression._

 _It was somewhere between relieved and horrified._

" _I'm afraid there's no gentle way to put this, Miss Haru. He's dead."_

 _Haru closed her eyes in pain as the terrible feeling spread to her heart. "Not again..."_

xxXxx

Yuki was gently awoken as Haru rocked her shoulders.

"Wake up, Sweetheart. The plane's landed," the woman cooed gently as her new daughter tiredly rubbed her eyes open.

The first thing she saw was her mother's _beautiful_ smile as she finished setting a book and headphones in her carry-on bag. But she was keeping those large brown eyes on her girl as she began signing her words, letting the people in the seats around them start filing into the aisle first. "There's something I forgot to warn you about before you drifted off, Snow Angel. Enough people know I'm coming back today for there to be photographers. They will be merciless in taking photos of us, and asking me at least a few questions about you. If you don't want to bother with them, feel free to press your face against my shoulder and I'll try to get us out of the airport as quickly as possible."

Yuki nodded, holding her arms up for Haru to carry her again. _'I_ _ **love**_ _having someone that enjoys holding me!'_

The older woman wasted no time in wrapping her in a possessive hug as she got out of her seat and adjusted her carry-on bag to one shoulder. Yuki kept her arms around Haru's neck as she walked down the aisle, stepped down the steps out of the airplane, and quickly walk towards the large grey building.

Sure enough, as soon as they passed into the building, lights started flashing enough to temporarily blind Yuki, and enough people were speaking loudly enough to rival a storm.

 _'Okay, this hurts.'_ She blinked several times in surprise, but soon gave up in order to press her eyes against Haru's shoulder.

The brunette merely hiked her child back onto her hip and marched like a soldier as the clicking sounds and loud voices continued. But since Yuki was keeping her eyes closed, she had no idea what had surprised Haru enough to make her stop cold for a second, and then run in a slightly different direction.

"Bruce!" she called out happily before the child became almost squished between her mother and someone who had a huge chest.

Yuki's eyes snapped open to see who the chest belonged to.

He was tall with silver strands in his dark hair... maybe handsome? He had a nice smile at least as he greeted Haru warmly in English with a familiar voice. His eyes strayed to her, curious but at least not as rudely as most people looked at her.

Haru answered happily, stealing a second hug out of the man before brushing her free hand over her daughter's incredibly short hair. "Yuki? This is Bruce Wayne. He's the friend that helped me adopt you. Can you wave hello?"

Yuki looked down in shyness, but managed to wave her hand a little.

Bruce then offered her a tan teddy bear with a large pink balloon tied to it that she hadn't noticed before. "Hello, Yuki. For you," he greeted her in badly broken Japanese.

Yuki glanced at her mother worriedly, especially since the cameras weren't letting up.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. Bruce is a good man, I promise. I thought you said you spent time in Japan," she noted while looking at her friend with surprise, but he nodded in confirmation.

"I did. Been a time since. Understand right."

Although still a bit nervous, Yuki accepted the bear with one hand and gave it a squeeze. _'I like my bunny best, but this is nice.' "Thank you,"_ she signed at him.

Bruce's eyes flickered, but otherwise kept his expression.

"I don't think Bruce knows sign language, sweetie. Wait, do you?" she asked as they walked over to where the luggage was being rotated on a long counter.

"No."

Yuki's head immediately felt a small stab of pain, making her wince a bit.

"Then she said 'thank you'." Haru's beautiful smile blossomed with happiness. "Really, thank you so much! You didn't have to pay for her adoption."

"My gift to you," Bruce stated with a stern look. "You give all for any. You turn for happy."

For some reason, Yuki's pain immediately faded away.

Haru's brown eyes melted like chocolate as she stole another hug out of him before rescuing Yuki's bag from the moving counter with one hand. "It happened just like you said, Bruce. Right out of nowhere, bang!"

"Fish cookies?" he asked with a sly smile while helping her with her own luggage.

That made Yuki look at the man with confusion. _'Huh?'_

"No, and the circumstances were about perfect, too! She could have used something to nibble on while we were on the way to the police station. Hey, you don't have to take our things." Haru tried to stop him, but he wheeled the luggage out of her reach with a slightly teasing smile.

"Hands full," Bruce pointed out while pulling both of their rolling bags for them as they strolled a bit quickly towards the flashing lights.

Yuki buried her face against Haru's shoulder again to spare her eyes, although with her arms around her new mom's neck she couldn't do anything about the noise as several photographers tried to talk at the same time, possibly shouting questions at them as the two kept marching.

At some point, Haru stopped, making Yuki look up at her with confusion.

She was calmly defiant as she faced a ridiculous number of people with cameras, stating her case in English in as plain terms as she could manage.

Bruce then offered her a small white box from inside his coat pocket, whispering something that made the brunette curious enough to open the top.

Never mind that Yuki had no problem from the sugary scent telling it was a cookie. _'Wait, a cookie?! Can't that wait until after Mom takes me home?'_

Haru spared an affectionate glance for the tall man before taking the cookie, very obviously showing the icing part of it to the people more than happy to take pictures, and ended with taking a rather large bite out of it.

For some reason, the photographers went wild at such an action, taking twice as many pictures as before while Bruce assisted Haru into a taxi, since the girl was still in her arms. He was grinning from ear to ear as one hand gently pushed the balloon into the cab before shutting the door.

Her mother finished chewing and swallowing before saying anything else. "Do you want the rest of the cookie, Sweetie?" she asked while Bruce quickly walked around the taxi to sit on the far side.

Yuki shook her head before resting her head on the woman's chest for another nap. _'I don't like sweets.'_

ooOoo

The young girl wasn't sure how she felt about Haru's home. It was big enough for her to run around in, and looked a lot prettier than even the hotel room they had shared in Japan.

… Maybe that was the problem. Everything about the furniture, the curtains, even the pretty knick-knacks decorating the place made it look like something out of a magazine. It was so perfect that she was afraid to touch anything.

"Would you like some water?" Haru asked both Yuki and Bruce as she deposited the girl onto the cream couch. "I'd offer something else, but-"

"Water fine, Haru." He then looked at Yuki, who only nodded in agreement.

"Be right back," she promised, walking out of the room.

A few seconds after her new mother was gone, Bruce turned his gaze back to the pale child, his smile slipping off as he studied her carefully.

Yuki squirmed under such a gaze, holding her new teddy bear close as the balloon swayed in the air. That gaze was a little too close to how some of her foster parents had looked at her.

But unlike those people, Bruce seemed to give a care that he was making her nervous. Taking in a deep breath through his nostrils, he got off his chair in order to kneel in front of her, taking one of her hands to keep her attention.

"You very lucky, Yuki. No hurt Haru."

Her tiny mouth fell open in horror. She shook her head violently before setting the teddy bear aside to sign for him. _"I love my mommy too much to hurt her!"_

As soon as she signed that, the pale girl remembered that he didn't know sign language.

Yuki was distracted from her thought as Bruce relaxed and Haru reentered the room with two glasses of water. She asked something in the other tongue while handing the white-haired girl one of the glasses.

Bruce answered in the same language, giving her a warm smile while standing up. Whatever it was he said made her give him a teasing grin and hold the water threateningly over his head.

He gave it a non-caring glance before making an off-handed remark.

Haru's eyes softened, and her hand came down enough for him to just take the glass. She then sat down next to Yuki before wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders. "I'm sorry that you have a preference, Bruce. Will it be too much of me to beg one more favor?"

"No. What want?" he asked curiously before taking a sip.

"When I update my will, I want Yuki to go to you if anything happens to me."

Bruce choked on his water while turning away, making Haru jump up and slap him on the back until he had his breath back.

"Sorry, should have waited for you to swallow first," the brunette admitted with a nervous smile.

Yuki wasn't sure she liked this idea. The way Bruce looked at her when Haru wasn't around didn't make her feel wanted. It made her feel like… something that needed to be looked at by people in white coats.

Whatever Bruce had to say when he got his breath back, he said it in English as he seemed to plead with her new mom. Haru listened patiently, her eyes surprisingly calm as her friend stated his case. When he was eventually done, she asked one question in the same tongue.

That one question was enough to make Bruce flinch and look down in shame. "Good with boys. No good with girls. You know."

"Bruce, I don't want to embarrass you, but you're the closest real friend I have other than your boys. No matter how much friction you or I have with Dick now, try telling me he would have turned out better without your guidance."

He flinched again, now unable to look her in the eye.

"I want her to be taken care of if something happens to me. No one stays on top forever, and I wasn't the best anyway."

He looked up so he could give her a flat look for a long moment.

Haru returned a soft glare while crossing her arms. "Point that look somewhere else, Bruce. I'm already outclassed by people with better things to do than pick a fight with me."

 _'Pick a fight?'_ Yuki wondered, taking another good look at her kind of scrawny mother. _'Come to think of it, how could she kill people when there's almost nothing to her body?'_

"Please. I agreed for your boys," Haru gently begged, though Bruce was still weakly fighting back.

"You born parent. Better than me."

"You're not exactly chopped liver, buddy. Please. It's only a safety net. My life it going to get a lot less..." She paused, trying to think of the right word while sneaking a guilty glance at her child "- _that_ now that I'm a mother. It has to."

 _'Less_ _ **what**_ _?'_

Bruce then looked at Yuki, who was watching the whole exchange a little fearfully while holding onto her new teddy bear. After another minute of thought, he switched back to English using a persuasive tone.

Whatever the new deal was, it was enough to make Haru hold out her hand with a satisfied smile. Bruce gripped her hand, shaking it firmly as he said something else. Haru nodded before stealing another hug out of the man, using one of her more assuring tones.

He gripped her tightly as they kept talking in English, making Yuki even more nervous. _'What are they saying?'_

After a while, Bruce let go of Haru, stating something with a comforting smile before walking out the front door. "Be good, Yuki."

"What else would she be?" the brunette called after her friend warmly, only following to shut the door behind him. Then she turned her loving gaze back to her child, smiling happily. "Isn't he wonderful?"

Yuki looked down at her new shoes, wondering if she should mention the way Bruce had looked at her. 'Wonderful' wasn't the word she had in mind for that look.

As usual, Haru noticed her discomfort. "Wait, are you nervous around men?"

That was safe enough to nod to.

"Well, don't worry. Bruce and his boys are good people, nothing to be afraid of." Then Haru took in a deep breath and sat next to Yuki to start signing again. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry if you already like this place, but this isn't where I'm planning to raise you."

Yuki relaxed happily, making her mother do the same.

"Oh good, you don't mind. Listen, it's okay if you want to take another nap, but I have some things to gather up before we leave. I want to make sure that nothing too personal is left behind."

" _Why?_ " the tiny girl couldn't help asking.

"Because we won't be coming back here. My agent's going to put the house up for sale as soon as we get to our real home."

Yuki thought carefully before asking another question. She wasn't sure if she'd like the answer, but she had to know. " _Who's going to take care of me when you're working?_ "

Haru looked a little clueless at the question. "Huh? Oh, right, Bruce and I were speaking English over that. I'm quitting for you, Yuki."

Her jaw dropped in complete shock.

Haru placed one finger on her chin to help the child close her mouth before she began signing her words. "I've wanted a real family much longer than I've cared about Hollywood. I promised myself _years_ ago that if I ever broke my word and gained a family, I wouldn't raise it in the spotlight. I want to give you as normal a childhood as I can." She pressed a loving kiss to her daughter's forehead. "I can't promise I won't release an occasional CD to keep rumors of my death down, but I'm not going to worry about contracts or tours or public appearances anymore. The only job I care about anymore is being a great parent for you."

The younger girl smiled happily before throwing herself into Haru's arms.

"Well, parent for you and honorary aunt for Tim. Dick's a little too old to need me these days."

She looked up at her new mom curiously.

"Bruce's boys. You'll be meeting Tim this summer."

Yuki bit her lip in worry. " _Boys are mean to me._ "

"Snowflake, Tim isn't most boys. Even if he doesn't like you, he'll behave himself for me." Haru happily nuzzled the girl's snow-white hair while fighting back a somewhat bitter laugh. "Besides, I can _promise_ he's seen stranger things than you."

ooOoo

Yuki gave a sharp intake of breath as she woke to her mother wrapping her in an extra blanket.

"Sorry, sweetie. It's time," Haru soothed her, holding her close like an oversized baby as she walked out of the perfect bedroom.

Yuki thought it was curious that she wasn't turning on any lights, even though it was obviously late at night. But Haru's steps were confident; perhaps she had been living here long enough not to need sight?

Eventually Haru opened a door to a colder room, even colder than Machida's storage room. A glance around said that it was the garage, but instead of the beautiful little car, her mother was opening up the door to a somewhat junky bigger car.

She was able to glance that the back seats were full of boxes and bags, which included her own travel bag.

Haru eased her back into her seat before fastening the seat belt over her child. "I know this is going to sound like I'm ashamed of you, but I swear this is just to throw people off our trail. I'll need you to lay as low as you can until I say otherwise. Can you do that for me?" she asked while slipping a knit hat over her daughter's head.

Yuki nodded, although a little puzzled by Haru's new clothing.

Well, 'new' probably wasn't the right word. They made Haru look like she had twice as much weight, and were kind of ugly.

"That's my girl," Haru cooed, shutting the passenger door before running around to the driver's side.

Before starting the car, she helped herself to a bag at her feet, pulling out what looked like _a woman's face and hair!_

Yuki gasped, praying that it wasn't really a face!

"Shh, it's just a mask. See?" The older girl proved her point by pulling it on, using the rear view mirror to make sure it was positioned right to look like her real head. The greying hair was pulled back in a bun, only a few hairs escaping the severity of a stern old face.

If not for the familiar scent, Yuki might have been fooled.

"There. Time for 'my housekeeper' to go enjoy her own vacation," Haru smirked while pulling on gloves that made her hands as big as a man's and tucking a scarf up enough to hide how slim her neck was when compared to the rest of her look. After setting the mirror back to the correct position, she simultaneously started the car and pressed a button that made the garage door slowly drone open.

" _Remember, stay down until I say otherwise,_ " Haru whispered, making the girl lean down and reach for her toes, just noticing that Haru had left both her teddy bear and bunny on top of a blanket for her.

Grabbing both, the small child held them close as her mother carefully eased out of the driveway, shift gears, and start driving at a slow and leisurely pace; occasionally changing directions.

 _'My stomach hurts!'_ She gave her mom an uncomfortable pitiful look.

" _Just a little longer, sweetheart. We don't want to be caught._ "

Her lower lip quivered, but she couldn't hold this position anymore! Leaning across the seat, she was _just_ able to brush the top of her head against one of Haru's legs. A glove that smelt of rubber came down to rub her hair through the hat.

"Go back to sleep, sweetie. We'll be driving for a while."

ooOoo

Understatement!

After the third day, Yuki lost track of how long she and her mother had been on the road together. It didn't help that each day was pretty much the same; wake up in some hotel, buy gas and eat a cold breakfast while driving, only stopping to once switch vehicles and for her mother to change disguises every now and again between gas stops, buying food, and bathroom breaks.

All it had taken to disguise Yuki, surprisingly, was the knit hat and a large pair of sunglasses. She wasn't sure what her mother told the adults to brush off her wearing the shades at night while checking into a hotel, but whatever it was, it always made the hotel people laugh and her head ache.

" _How much longer?_ " Yuki couldn't help signing as her mom tucked her into yet another stiff bed in a room much cheaper than the one in Japan.

" _Two more days,_ " Haru whispered, reaching up to turn the light off. " _Don't worry, Snowflake, once we get there, we won't be traveling again for several months. You are going to_ _ **love**_ _where I'm taking you._ "

Yuki could only hope so, for this much time in the car! " _Are there going to be a lot of people?_ "

Haru shook her head with a tired smile. " _Nope. Until Tim comes for the summer, it'll be just you and me._ "

Yuki went to sleep with a smile on her face, even though she wasn't sure about this 'Tim'. What if he looked at her like Bruce did? What if he wasn't as nice when Haru wasn't looking?

… Would her mother change her mind about adopting her if she couldn't get along with Tim?

ooOoo

Yuki could tell she was in her new home before opening her eyes. For one, the mattress was much softer than any of the hotels she and her mother had been staying in. Secondly, the covers were warmer, and Haru's scent was everywhere like a soothing perfume.

Yawning a bit, Yuki sat up from her mom's embrace and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

The room was much more modest than the hotel in Japan or the picture-perfect house they had abandoned. It was still nice, but at least it actually looked like someone actually lived there.

The heavy quilt covering the bed seemed to be made from blue pants, and the desk in the corner had too many messy papers to be for looks alone. The laundry basket was full, but the stale scent seemed to say they had been sitting there for more than a few weeks.

Slipping silently out of bed to keep from waking her mother, Yuki stepped carefully to avoid stray shoes and papers in order to start exploring.

This room had an attached bathroom, but the hallway quickly proved more interesting. The room right next to her mother's was overflowing with fabrics, yarn, and little gadgets she didn't recognize. The room beyond that had to be Tim's, since it was themed in black and red with occasional yellow stripes. It also had the vague scent of someone unfamiliar, possibly a teenage boy.

That, and she doubted her mother would own a poster of a young man in a mask wearing the same colors in a heroic pose. Beyond that room was a fairly standard one with only small traces of Haru's scent in it. Yuki could only assume that would be her new bedroom.

After finding another bathroom, Yuki came out into the living room, falling in love with it in an instant.

The carpet was a light beige color, and the walls save for one white one were painted with an ocean theme. There were large bookcases, still some scattered yarn and fabric as well as tools spilling out of a basket next to a rocking chair.

The small child experimentally ran her hand over a strange pedaled wheel to make it spin before plopping down on one of the plush grey couches. _'I feel so calm and happy. This must be Mom's real home!'_

But if so, why would she own the magazine perfect home so far away? Feeling a little curious, she stood up on the comfy couch in order to pull aside a curtain.

… It was _real_ perfection. There was a large snow-covered meadow in front of the house with a frozen pond, and even larger trees bordering the meadow, as if to keep out all intruders.

Evidently, her mother hadn't been exaggerating when she used the word 'reclusive'.

"Welcome to the Refuge. Do you like it, Snow Angel?" Haru asked around a yawn, stepping out of the hallway while rubbing sleep out of one eye. She was still wearing her 'disguise' clothes.

Yuki nodded happily before hopping off the couch for a hug. _'Now I really am home!'_


	7. Home

**Chapter Seven: Home**

 _There's no place like home._

 _-Dorothy, 'Wizard of Oz'_

 **xxXxx**

 _A fifteen-year-old boy with dark hair walked from a picture-perfect kitchen and into a paper-lined mess of a living room, his hands full as he spoke to the figure leaning over a small table. "Um, Aunt Haru? I hate to pop your bubble, but as picturesque as a cabin in the woods sound, I hear that the insurance rates for them are through the roof. Are you sure you want a flammable home?"_

 _The young woman pouted as she stared at her collection of drawings and notes. "No. I want a permanent refuge from the world. Maybe a stone cottage instead?"_

 _The teenage boy placed a soda can in front of her before sitting next to her on the couch with an open one for himself. "Much sturdier, but making additions after it's done would be a hassle. I know you love the idea of a tiny home, but how do you know you won't be a raising a family in it someday?"_

" _Don't tease me, Dick," Haru whispered while popping her soda open. "The fact that I have you and Bruce for friends is miracle enough."_

 _Dick could feel his heart pound in empathy, but it didn't stop him from giving her a soft punch on the arm for distraction. "Stop being so hard on yourself, Aunt Haru. Okay, if you won't consider how_ _ **amazing**_ _of a mom you'd make when your heart finally heals, consider the fact that I would want to visit you."_

" _Wait, you would?!" the brunette asked, perking up in a heartbeat._

' _That was too easy,' he tried not to laugh. "You thought I wouldn't? Aunt Haru, no matter what you think, I doubt I'm going to be the only guest you'll have. All I'm asking you to consider is at least a few spare bedrooms and maybe a gymnasium," he added the last part under his breath._

" _Once from the circus, always from the circus?" she teased while gently punching his arm in return._

 _He grinned, loving how easy the action was around her. "I didn't exactly hear you complain about me teaching you a few of my tricks. Besides, with how much you love swimming, don't you want an inside pool? I hear that state gets a lot of snow, and people will know who you are if you do what you did two months ago."_

" _That was an emergency, no harm done!" Haru sighed tiredly. "I think you're missing the point, Dick. I want a place that won't make people stop and stare when they inevitably come by for whatever reason. I want to fool people into thinking I'm barely making ends meet. I want a place that feels like a home instead of a..."_

" _Mansion?" he finished sadly._

 _She flinched in guilt. "I_ _ **swear**_ _I don't have anything against your home."_

 _He couldn't resist the chance. "Except for when you get lost in it on the way to breakfast." Suddenly his fifteen-year-old body gave a shudder, and his eyes went wide. "Um, Aunt Haru, if I give you a suggestion, will you_ _ **swear**_ _you never got it from me?"_

 _Feeling a bit amused, Haru took a long sip of soda before answering. "What idea am I about to get, dear nephew?"_

xxXxx

" _Why_ didn't I listen to Dick when he suggested at least two more bedrooms?" Haru sighed, filling up several separate boxes with tools, yarn, and fabric ends from the cluttered room next to her bedroom. "He knew I'd be a mom... well, people have been telling me for years that I was eventually going to cave in about a family, but they've been saying that about a guy too-"

Yuki yanked on her pant leg to get her attention. " _Why are you cleaning this room instead of letting me have the one next to Tim's?_ "

Haru's eyes widened a bit. "Oh no, Sweetheart. That's Dick's room. If he ever changes his mind and lets me back into his life, I want him to know that he's always had a place with me."

Yuki cocked her head in confusion.

Her mother took in a deep breath before explaining. "... He and Bruce had a falling out the same time I finally finished decorating this place. He had just finished college. When I called Dick to let him know he could keep his promise and visit me or just crash here whenever he wanted, he... assumed that Bruce had asked me to intervene for him and said some pretty harsh things that you will never hear me repeat if I can help it." She looked down, letting some of that familiar depression sink back in. "He even renounced me as his honorary aunt, he was so mad. Then after Bruce took in Tim, I was worried that Dick would think I was replacing him. That room is my way of showing him that I still care about him."

Unable to think of anything to sign to that, Yuki only grabbed one of Haru's hands and gently rubbed her face against it.

That hand turned enough to caress her cheek. "I tend to have better luck with honorary family than literal family. Just for the fact that honorary family are willing to have anything to do with me. Here's hoping you're going to be the one to change that." She leaned down and gave Yuki a big hug and kiss before returning to her task. "Cleaning out this room is probably going to take a while. It's a good thing you don't mind the idea of sleeping with me until then."

Yuki shook her head happily. _'If anything, I wish you'd let me just share your room.'_

Nothing had ever made her feel so safe and wanted like falling asleep in her new mother's arms.

ooOoo

The closest town to their home was a good thirty minutes away, and as little interested as Yuki had in spending even **more** time in a car, Haru couldn't ignore that they were lacking in certain food departments.

Which was strange, since they had dropped by a strange little building before hitting the grocery store. Yuki had kept her shirt over her mouth the whole drive into town thanks to the five large boxes in the back. They contained food and spices that had led to more than one incident in Japan.

Haru had stepped into the building with one of the boxes while her daughter waited in the car, but it wasn't long at all before the disguised brunette was back out with two men hastily closing their coats against the cold. They followed her mother eagerly when she opened up the back of the car and grabbed two boxes each.

The brunette tried to protest something in a slightly different voice, possibly to let her help, but they brushed off her worries with fond glances, one of them saying something cheerful when he spotted Yuki.

She quickly hid behind her seat and made sure her hat and sunglasses were still firmly in place.

Haru mentioned something with a nervous giggle, making the men laugh as they took the boxes inside the small plain building. But it wasn't a mean laugh, since one of the men still looked back to smile just for her.

"... That went well," her mother mentioned after getting back into the suburban and starting the car. "Now we have more room for food you can actually have. Just a thought, but what do you think of raising chickens when the weather warms up? If we have a steady supply of eggs, we won't have to make as many trips to town."

Yuki cocked her head, thinking about it. " _Will the chickens need a room?_ "

The brunette giggled as they drove away from the plain building. "No, there's a garden shed behind the house that I can re-purpose for chickens. Though I might need to pay someone to help with a fence to keep the chickens from getting out or predators getting in."

ooOoo

Yuki sat patiently at the table in the kitchen, watching her mother fight it out with their breakfast on the stove. Haru muttered under her breath in English as she experimentally poked it, only to exclaim something in frustration before violently mixing one of the skillets' contents around adding more batter.

"I apologize in advance, Sweetness. I've never been able to make plain old pancakes. I hope you don't mind scrambled pancakes and eggs."

 _'Doesn't she mean scrambled eggs and pancakes?'_

Nope. When the brunette was able to place a plate in front of her daughter, the pancakes were in such little pieces just like the eggs.

"So, do you prefer syrup or applesauce? The applesauce is a surprisingly tasty and healthier alternative," Haru said while opening the applesauce first.

Yuki pushed her plate towards the opened option. _'Not to mention it's not as painfully sweet as syrup.'_

ooOoo

"Without a warning, the thirteenth fairy appeared in a puff of smoke. … _warning... thirteenth... smoke. '_ **Why was I not invited to the christening'** she demanded," Haru snarled in a hoarse old woman's voice, making Yuki jump a bit.

Her mother had a gift for different voices, but only ever seemed to use them for her disguises and telling stories.

"Sorry sweetie, did I scare you? _Sorry, Sweetie... I scare you?_ " Haru asked worriedly, setting the thick book down to look at the daughter held tight by her other arm.

" _A little. I don't like the wicked fairy voice._ "

"She's only in this scene, honey. _She's only... honey._ She only has two more speaking parts. _She only has two... parts._ Well, that and the other part, but she'll have a different voice for that. … _other part… she'll have a different voice for..._ "

Ah, that was _that_. Shouldn't learning a new language be more difficult than this? In one of her foster homes in Japan, an older girl was always angry and agitated when she had to practice her English for school. Maybe Haru was a better teacher?

Still, nothing could hurt her as long as her mother was here to protect her. Although she _really_ didn't like that fairy voice, the small girl still snuggled up to hear the rest of the story, keeping her large blue eyes on the little squiggles that were slowly starting to form words to her mind.

"That's my girl! _That's my girl!_ " the brunette crooned, pressing a kiss to Yuki's slowly growing hair before turning back to the story. " _ **'**_ **We didn't mean to forget about you, dear Fairy.** _ **We didn't... forget...**_ **'** "

ooOoo

Haru took the last step down the stairs to the laundry room, turning to see her child follow close behind. "Do you have a steady grip, my snow angel? _Do you have a steady grip, my snow angel?_ "

Yuki nodded as she took the final step, gripping the bag of fabric close as if it were one of her toys.

Haru then gestured with her head for Yuki to step behind her. "Stay close to me, _stay close to me._ It's easy to get lost downstairs, _it's easy to get lost downstairs,_ " her mother warned, heaving a big box up in one arm and knee before pressing on a screw head under a light switch.

Yuki didn't have time to think _'We're already downstairs!'_ when the stairs suddenly shuddered and lifted up to reveal a whole other set of stairs.

Haru walked down five steps before turning around. "Are you coming, _are you coming_?"

Yuki snapped out of her shock in order to follow her mother.

The lights appeared to be motion sensitive down here, since the only light in this secret part of the house stayed around the two.

As her mother leaned a box against a wall so she could open a door, the white-haired child snuck a peak down the staircase that continued downward like an apartment building, only leveling out in front of one door per floor. _'I can't see the bottom!'_

"Yuki? I promise you'll see everything in time, _I promise that you'll see everything in time._ Today we're focusing on moving my sewing supplies, _today we're focusing on moving my sewing supplies._ "

Yuki wanted to find out more about all those doors... but not by herself. This part of the house didn't feel like home as much as the upper part did. Sighing in defeat, she adjusted the fabric in her arms before following Haru into the first level's room.

… It was _huge_! For a second, she wondered if she had accidentally stepped into a craft store, except the only counters had rulers and such scattered all over them. The walls were lined with shelves and there were cabinets lined up like aisles, every single one of them stuffed full of fabric, yarn, fluffy stuff she didn't know what to call, and so many other things. But what scared her the most was a large machine that had its own corner beyond the counters and sewing desk.

What looked the most interesting were the neatly folded blankets next to the machine.

"I guess my days of mostly using this space as storage are over, _I guess my days of mostly using this space as storage are over,_ " Haru sighed as she set the large box on the counter and gestured for Yuki to leave the bag leaning next to the work space. "I did enjoy working by natural light, but you are worth getting banished down here for. _I did enjoy working by natural light, but you are worth getting banished down here for._ But at least it shouldn't take more than a few days to take it all down here, _but at least it shouldn't take more than a few days to take it all down here._ "

 _'Should I tell her I have a good grip on English now? It hasn't been long, but she talks to me so much that I bet I could speak it as well as she can.'_ The small child inserted her hand into her mother's and gave it a squeeze as she kept thinking.

Haru gave her a loving smile as she pressed the screw head to make the staircase come back down so they could take more things from her sewing room.

 _'… If I tell her I know English now, she'll want to hear it. Am I ready to start talking yet? Would Mom really be interested in what I have to say, or does she like that my silence lets her handle all the talking?'_ She gave a longing look at the steps, imagining all that below could hold. _'What other surprises does Mom have for me?'_

ooOoo

There it was again! Every time she and her mother came back from visiting town, there'd be the scent of someone she didn't know all over the house! Not to mention that really annoying high-pitched sound.

Sighing a bit, she forced herself to endure the sound until after she and Haru had finished putting away the groceries.

At long last, Haru set the last can of coconut milk in the cupboard. " _Definitely_ going to have to get some chickens this spring, _**definitely**_ _going to have to get some chickens this spring_." Then she turned with an adoring smile to her small child who was stuffing the empty grocery bags into their own bag under the sink. "Did you want to play up here again while I do more sorting in my sewing place? _Did you want to play up here again while I do more sorting in my sewing place?_ I know you find my sorting a little boring, _I know you find my sorting a little boring._ "

Yuki nodded, hiding her annoyance. If whoever it was that was breaking into their house while they were gone did anything more than leave that annoying sound, she wouldn't bother hiding it from her mother.

"All right, _all right_. Just remember to push the button if you want me to come back up here, sweetie. _Just remember to push the button if you want me to come back up here, sweetie._ The stairs only open from the bottom. _The stairs only open from the bottom._ "

The blue-eyed child nodded before pushing her mother towards the stairs.

"When I'm done for today, _when I'm done for today,_ we're going to try some math exercises, _we're going to try some math exercises._ "

" _Okay, Mom. Have fun,"_ she signed before Haru descended the stairs and pressed the screw head.

It was kind of clever, how when the stairs came up like that, they just looked like an interesting set of empty shelves. It would fool thieves a bit more if there were a few knick-knacks lying on the plain wood, but the only way to make them stay would be super glue. Although her mother didn't insist on perfection, the last thing she was interested in was creating a safety hazard.

Shaking her head away from the thought, Yuki retrieved a small cup from the kitchen and started making her rounds.

One of the little black dots was glued down this time, making her retrieve a spoon to help scrape it off the wall behind one of the couches, and where another one was hiding on the frame of a large photo of a cold looking beach.

Whoever it was that kept leaving these dots in her home was obviously aware that she was taking them down, because they were hidden in much better spots this time! Sure, she had to get a chair from the kitchen in order to reach the one hiding on the clock face and the one on the lampshade, but at least she could still reach them.

… Drat. The ones in her mother's room were too high for her to reach, even with a chair. She glared at the corners of the ceiling where they met the walls. The dots were tiny enough that her mother likely wouldn't notice them, but the piercing sound had a bad habit of keeping her up unless she was dead tired.

 _'How am I going to get rid of them? I don't want to worry Mom, but maybe I should tell her about these dots?'_ Yuki felt a chill in her heart. _'What if she wants them here, but doesn't want to hurt my feelings for getting rid of them? Nothing's out of place when we come back... no, she would have to slip away long enough to order more dots, and the only time we're really separated is when she's distracted with sorting that sewing room, and even that's my idea so I can get rid of these stupid things.'_

Suddenly, Yuki remembered all the incidents that used to get her bounced between foster homes. She tapped a thumb to her chin, realizing that they had completely stopped after she met her new mother. _'… If I can unlock a door, can I wiggle those dots loose?'_

Deciding that it was worth a shot, the pale child stared at one of the corners and tried to focus on that little dot.

… No, this wasn't working. What was it that made the incidents happen again?

Her expression darkened as those memories resurfaced.

" _What a little freak!"_

" _What has the witch child done this time?"_

" _That's it, get your bag!"_

" _Don't touch that!"_

" _It's just a bath, you little brat!"_

Every one of the little dots in the room exploded, including the ones in the cup she had already collected. Unfortunately, even the lightbulbs overhead shattered, making Yuki jump in surprise.

… But at least there was no more of the high-pitched sound in this room, or even her mother's bathroom. The only ones left was the one in the bathroom across the hall. Taking in a deep breath for courage, she marched out of the room to see if she could disable the remaining ruckus without breaking any more lightbulbs.

ooOoo

Haru set another plate of scrambled pancakes and eggs in front of her daughter. "Are you sure you don't mind having this again? _Are you sure-_ "

" _This is my favorite breakfast, Mom. Thank you for making it,_ " Yuki signed to cut her mother off, happily dragging the applesauce close to her side of the little table.

Haru smiled happily and nearly sat down when the doorbell rang for the first time in two months. The two women looked at each other with surprise as the older one straightened up and gave her daughter a 'stay put' gesture while walking to the front door.

Sneaking a peak through the little hole, she gasped in delight. "Arthur! Mera!" she cried happily, unlocking the door in a heartbeat so she could tackle the people on her doorstop.

Feeling curious, Yuki wiggled out of her chair and came around the corner for a better look.

Her mother was hugging a pair of incredibly tall people that looked like body builders.

Both of them were beautiful, the man blonde and broad and the woman had thick red hair that flowed nearly to her knees. All of them were smiling as they gripped each other in a loving hug. Yuki tried not to look like she was spying on them from around the kitchen corner, but couldn't resist staring at the pair.

" _I'm sorry for not coming sooner, we just found out last week and you know how busy work can get,_ " Arthur begged with a warm smile.

Haru could only shake her head while beaming like the sun. " _No apologies, I'm just thrilled you came!_ Yuki, sweetheart; I have some friends that want to meet you! _Yuki, sweetheart; I have some friends that want to meet you!_ " she called out, giving her child a 'come here' gesture.

Mera was the first to see her, her regal green eyes were soft with wonder. " _What a beauty! I've seen pearls with less sheen than her hair! Come here, darling,"_ she cooed, stepping into the house and holding her arms out for the child.

Liking the woman immediately, Yuki ran into those open arms without a second thought.

… Safe, but not as safe as her mother made her feel. Dang, but her coat was cold!

" _Oh, just_ _ **tell**_ _me fish cookies were involved in how you met_ ," Arthur begged through a laugh as the girl felt his large hand gently rub her head.

 _'Wait, fish cookies again?'_ Yuki wondered.

" _That's what Bruce- another friend, that is- asked when he got a good look at her. But no_ ," Haru admitted while gently pulling them more into the house so she could shut the door. " _Please take off your coats and join us for breakfast._ "

" _We didn't come to be a burden-_ " Mera tried to beg off, but Haru pressed a hand to her mouth.

" _Getting to see you two will_ _ **never**_ _be a burden. … Not to be selfish, but I'm sort of glad you didn't bring the children. These roads can be treacherous during the winter._ "

" _We didn't drive,_ " Arthur muttered under his breath, shrugging off his coat before tenderly taking Mera's off her shoulders, working around her embrace with Yuki. " _But we were away from the children when we found out about your daughter, it would have been longer to retrieve them. I'm sorry, I know how you love to see them._ "

Haru gave a wistful, understanding smile as she started walking back to the kitchen. " _Maybe next time when the weather's more agreeable. Maybe our daughters will enjoy playing together!_ "

Yuki's eyes widened with shock after their coats were removed. Both of them smelled almost exactly like Haru, Arthur more so than Mera. _'But I thought Mom didn't have anyone but me and Bruce's family!'_ She clapped her hands as the pair followed her mother into the kitchen, making the three adults turn their attention to her. " _Are these two your family?_ " she signed curiously.

Her mother's face brightened to cherry red as she was reaching for the batter bowl. "Oh no, sweetheart. I wish they were, but they're just good friends that treat me like family."

" _What did she say, Haru?_ " Mera asked, keeping the girl in her arms possessively as she and Arthur sat down at the table.

The brunette tried to hide her red face by pouring more pancake mix into the batter. " _She asked if you were my family._ "

" _ **I consider her family, even if we can't see her as often as we'd like**_ _,_ " Arthur pretended to whisper to Yuki, who giggled as her mother blushed even harder as she carefully added water into the batter and began mixing with a whisk.

"What made you ask that, sweetheart?" Haru asked while sneaking a peak at her child. " _What made you ask that, sweetheart?_ "

" _They smell like you, Mom. Especially Arthur._ "

Haru's eyes widened. "You can **smell** that?" she asked in surprise, forgetting to repeat herself in English.

Yuki could only nod. " _Of course. It was your scent that made me go looking for you the day we met._ "

Her mother was now gaping in shock, forgetting to mix the pancake batter.

" _Is everything all right, my friend?_ " Mera asked, setting Yuki on the chair to come closer. " _I could finish mixing that for you if it's-_ "

" _It's not, go ahead and sit down. It's about time my stench did something_ _ **useful**_ _._ " Haru returned to mixing while nearly forcing a smile for her child. "Arthur and I have similar blood types. _Arthur and I have similar blood types._ I had to donate blood once when he was in trouble. _I had to donate blood once when he was in trouble._ "

" _Hey, no one forced you into it,_ " the blonde protested. " _You_ _ **promised**_ _me you weren't forced when I woke up!_ "

" _You would have died if I didn't do it_!" her mother stated like it ended the conversation.

Yuki's eyes widened in surprise.

Arthur bit back a harsh laugh while rolling his eyes. " _Right. And if my friends had been able to ask anyone else in your family, they would have fainted at the mere_ _ **thought**_ _of a needle pricking their precious hides!_ "

Haru's expression became as dark as night as her mixing turned a shade violent. " _I thought we agreed never to discuss_ _ **them**_!" she nearly hissed between tightly clenched teeth, clearly not about to repeat it in Japanese for her surprised daughter's sake.

 _'Wait, Mom_ _ **does**_ _have a family?'_ But... if she had a family, why was she alone for Christmas? That didn't make any sense. The small child would have started wondering more on that if she wasn't paying attention to Arthur's guilty flinch.

" _You're right, I'm sorry. How is raising Yuki going?_ " he asked while reaching around the table to steal the girl for his own lap so that the redhead could take the seat back.

Haru immediately relaxed as her gaze turned back to her child, perfectly comfortable on the near stranger's muscular leg. " _It's been wonderful. The past two months have been like a dream come true._ "

Yuki nodded in perfect agreement, taking one of Arthur's hands between her own to silently study it.

These were worker's hands, rough and strong enough to hold the world. But they could still hold her like she was a china doll.

" _How much English does she know?"_ Mera asked curiously as she passed Yuki's plate to the man so that at least she could start eating.

Haru shrugged as she briefly hunted the refrigerator for the egg carton. " _I'm not sure, she's still shy about speaking outside of sign language._ "

Yuki flinched while trying to open the applesauce container, giving Arthur the chance to open it for her.

" _Did you understand that, sweetheart?_ " Haru asked with surprise, pausing in pouring the batter onto the hot pan.

Her child slowly nodded, making all three adults stare at her in shock.

"... _You taught her English inside of_ _ **two months**_?" Arthur asked, staring at Haru like she was the most impressive thing he had ever seen.

She glared at him as her cheeks puffed up angrily. " _Oh no you don't, point that look at Yuki, not me! She caught onto sign language like it was nothing! Say, sweetie, did you want to learn another language?_ " her mother asked curiously as she cracked eggs into the second pan.

Yuki brightened at the thought. " _What other languages do you know, Mom?_ "

" _We'll discuss that after Arthur and Mera's visit. Oh, I'm just so proud of my clever little girl!_ " Haru gushed, leaving breakfast alone for now to steal a hug around her friend's arms.

The pale girl sighed happily at feeling those familiar arms around her.

Haru pressed another kiss to her forehead before looking up at Arthur, a bit of worry slipping onto her features. " _Um, Arthur? Is..._ _ **she**_ _upset with my decision? I did make plans with her._ "

 _'Which 'she'?'_ Yuki couldn't help wondering.

" _Haru,_ " the blonde man said tiredly before gripping one of her shoulders. " _You know that we of all people understand the call of a normal life. She was nothing less than happy for you, and asked me to say that Themyscira will always be waiting._ "

Haru relaxed noticeably before rescuing the pancakes and eggs from burning. " _I would ask you to hug her for me, but I'm not sure Mera would appreciate that._ "

" _I am certain Diana will settle for a 'thank you',_ " Mera stated firmly, making Arthur nervously nod his head without a thought.

Yuki was rubbing her temple thoughtfully. _'Themyscira? Is that another friend I'll be meeting? What about Diana?'_

For someone that had seemed so alone when they met, Haru apparently had a lot more friends and family than Yuki originally thought. Not that she was going to complain if they all turned out to be as nice as these two.

" _ **Just between us, Yuki,**_ " Arthur pretended to whisper into one of her ears, his eyes turning gentle. " _ **Your mother is one of the kindest, most courageous souls I've ever met.**_ "

" _ **Arthur!**_ " Haru nearly screamed in mortification, nearly sending the half-scrambled pancakes to the floor, making Mera unsuccessfully fight back a laugh.

" _Considering the people I've met in my life, you'll never know just how high of a compliment that is. She's probably going to jump through hoops to keep you from finding out that she's a hero of the highest merit. Don't fall for it._ "

Haru nearly tripped over her own feet to get close enough to nearly slap a hand over his bearded lips. " _That's enough out of_ you, _mister! She'll know everything when she turns twelve, and not before!_ "

Mera finished laughing before pointing at the brunette. " _Do you really think you can keep her from finding out anything until then? You left your fingerprints all over this world!_ "

" _That's enough out of you too, you smart aleck! Um, sweetie?_ " her mother tried to say through a nervous smile. " _You're going to eat your breakfast, right?_ "

As if that could distract the child from the conversation.

Yuki nodded, but still signed something before returning to her meal. " _You were my hero from day one. I'm not shocked that you're other people's hero too._ "

Haru melted like a snowflake, finally stepping away from the stove to pick her daughter up and away from her breakfast in order to snuggle her close like a beloved toy.

" _What did she say?_ " Arthur asked, finally losing enough patience to stand up and finish making breakfast.

"... _The little traitor is on your side._ "


	8. Attention

**Chapter Eight: Attention**

 _Was I really seeking good, or just seeking attention?_

 _-Elphaba, 'Wicked'_

 **xxXxx**

" _Did you ever want to become a star growing up, Miss Haru?" an elderly man with kind eyes asked as he made another note on his pad._

 _The young lady sprawled over his 'shrink couch' gave a light amused laugh as she stared up at the ceiling, though her face was grim. "Never. I've always been extremely shy about people paying any attention to me."_

 _He added that to his notes. "Considering how the people in your hometown treated you, I'm surprised you didn't say 'terrified'."_

 _She fought back a laugh._ " _Well, that too. Sometimes I_ _ **still**_ _wonder if this is all just a dream."_

" _I think we're getting a little off-track, Miss Haru," the psychiatrist told her with a laugh of his own. "We were talking about your dreams growing up. Tell me; what was something you used to hope and wish for in that attic?"_

 _Those large brown eyes glazed over, and her lips stated a phrase that seemed a little too rehearsed. "I wanted someone wonderful to rescue me from my miserable life so that we could move somewhere so far away that Sir would never force me to come back, get married, and have six kids together." Her eyes closed as a longing sigh passed out her lungs. "I'll admit that I messed up on that first part, but it was all I had to help me keep going."_

 _He stared at her a bit before writing that down as well. "..._ _ **Six**_ _children? Why so many?"_

 _She closed her eyes in concentration, but her expression was wistful. "I'm not quite sure. There's just something about the idea of six kids that... just... answers a need in me. I'm sorry about not being more specific."_

 _The doctor gave his patient a long look before asking another question. "So tell me; this imaginary husband of yours. Was he rich?"_

" _No, very modest in all respects." That look of longing increased painfully._

" _... You do realize that would have landed you right back where you started, don't you?"_

" _Take that back!" she snapped, sitting up in order to glare at him. "I might meet a guy like that!"_

 _The doctor raised his hands and clipboard in defense. "What I meant was, you went into great detail on your last visit on all the chores you were forced to do, both in your home and in others. You said you were miserable."_

" _Not because of the chores!" the brunette insisted stubbornly. "I was miserable because every person that came near me could only see_ _ **trash**_ _! They didn't care that I was washing their cars, I was dependable enough to look after their children and pets, or that I never breathed a cross word at them when they insult me to my face! I was still a worthless piece of nothing that would never amount to anything, because_ _ **they**_ _decided it for me!"_

" _... I think I see what you were really after," her doctor said after a long minute. "It's not about having a family. It's not about working your fingers to the bone. It's about love, isn't it?"_

 _The young star gave him a desperate look verging on tears. "Just_ _ **appreciation**_ _would have been nice!"_

" _You're appreciated now, aren't you?" 'Understatement of the year.'_

 _She rubbed the tears out of her eyes before they could run down her face. "Only because I'm a good liar with a nice singing voice. Not because they like_ _ **me**_ _. Except for Dad." She suddenly held both hands to her mouth in mortification. "Don't tell him I called him that!"_

 _The older man couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy as he underlined 'daddy issues' in his notes. "I promise all of this is strictly confidential, Miss Haru."_

xxXxx

' _Okay, that does it.'_ Yuki couldn't stand it anymore!

While her mother was busy getting the dishes from breakfast washed, the white-haired girl hopped off her chair and started scooting it to the side of the sink.

Haru was surprised, but only kept one eye on her child as she grabbed a dish towel from the appropriate drawer and climbed onto the chair to stand nearly as tall as her mother.

' _I am not going to treat my mom like a servant.'_ Yuki grabbed the plate as soon as her mother tried to set it on the drying rack and started wiping it dry.

As soon as she placed it aside to repeat the action, she was interrupted by a large and slightly wet embrace from her mom, as well as a loving kiss to her brow.

"… You're the first person I didn't have to ask to do that."

" _You said you wanted me to be a first in your life,"_ Yuki pointed out after the hug had ended, but before she picked up another plate.

"I'm getting my wish in spades, promise." As soon as the third plate was clean, she handed it to her daughter.

Despite herself, the dish slipped out of her grasp and shattered on the floor loudly.

Yuki gasped in horror, but her mother had her arms around her in a heartbeat once more.

"Shh, my snowflake. Shh. It's just a plate. Don't cry over this, it's not worth your tears."

She was still breathing heavily and fighting back the guilt, so her mother reached down and pulled open the door just underneath the sink to reveal a small trash can.

"See, Sweetheart? I break dishes too," the brunette pointed out while tipping the trash can just enough so Yuki could see the few ceramics shards within. "When we hit summer, I'll show you what I do with the pieces. It's actually kind of pretty, if I do say so myself."

"… _How can broken dishes be pretty?"_ Yuki asked once she had calmed down a little. No one had ever been so even-tempered about her breaking something before!

Haru grinned in excitement. "You'll get the idea when the snow melts out back."

ooOoo

"Ha ha! We finally did it!" Haru gloated, picking up her daughter in order to swing her around the now completely empty room. "It only took three months, but it's done!"

Yuki laughed as well, the only vocal sound she's made in front of her mother so far. _'I thought for sure she'd have given up and given me Dick's room by now.'_

Haru stopped swinging the girl around in order to give the bare walls a speculative look. "Okay, now that we've got the work part out of the way, now comes the fun part. How do we want to decorate your room, my snow angel?"

Yuki cocked her head before answering with her hands. _"A bed would be a good idea."_

The brunette giggled while squeezing her like a toy. "I mean do you want a theme for your room? I could paint another mural for you."

" _Did you do the one in the living room?"_

A nod confirmed the fact. "Yep, and it only took two months. As much as I love being independent, it would be smarter to bring in furniture when Tim comes for the summer for the extra muscle." Haru gave a small laugh while shaking her head. "I don't know what Bruce does to his boys, but Dick and Tim have always been incredibly strong for their age. Tim's already guessed that he'll be helping out with furniture when he comes, so that will give us plenty of time to do something special. Come on, are there any secret wishes you have about a room of your own?" she coaxed sweetly.

Yuki already knew about the emails she exchanged with Tim and the phone calls with Bruce, so she didn't bother questioning how he could already know such a thing. _"Was he upset over you wanting to use him like that?"_ she asked worriedly.

She scoffed at such concerns. "Honey, he said something about it first and insisted he didn't mind. If anything, he'll get upset if he comes here and finds out I did it without help."

Yuki pouted. _"You have_ _ **me**_ _."_

Her mother's lips curled into a smile of indulgent adoration. "As much as I love you, Sweet Pea, I doubt you'll be of much help with something as heavy as a dresser or even a bed frame. Hey, how about we look at some of my books and see if there's anything you like?"

The pale child nodded happily. As far as she was concerned, there was no better way to spend the day than on her mother's lap with a nice thick book.

ooOoo

" _I like that,"_ Yuki signed before pointing at a beautifully draped bed on the latest page.

"Oh, a canopy? Good choice," Haru approved before putting it into her notes. "I used to have one, but then I kept tearing it down whenever I got a fresh batch of…" She trailed off, her grip loosening on her child.

' _Not that look again!'_ The blue-eyed girl patted her mother's arms insistently to bring her mind back.

Haru shook her head slowly, her eyes wearier than normal as if awakening from something unpleasant. She looked down at the picture in the magazine and the picture therein. "Did you like the style of bed, or do you want to keep looking?"

" _Mom, is something wrong?"_

"No, of course not." She smiled and held her daughter tightly. "Not anymore, at least. You know, I'm not sure if all that fancy scrollwork is right for you. Hey, what if I painted all the furniture with flowers or something?"

Yuki couldn't repress her worry. _"I like that idea, but are you sure nothing's wrong? I don't like it when you get that look in your eyes."_

Her mother closed her eyes while inhaling painfully. "… I did warn you from the beginning that I came with baggage, Sweetness. But don't worry, you'll know everything when you turn twelve like I promised."

ooOoo

"Hey, leave some paint for the other customers," a man working the craft store laughed as Haru filled up her cart.

She brushed back the long strands of her black wig before answering. "Normally I would, but I've got some big painting projects planned, and all the paint I thought I had was dried up."

"I thought you and your daughter were new in town," the man reproached as Yuki clung to her mother's side.

Their 'in town' disguises were much simpler than most of the ones Haru had used while coming here. Enough makeup to cover her facial scars, blue contacts, black wig and glasses on the mother. Only a thick hat and shades for the daughter, since her hair and eyes were the most distinctive features.

"Yes, but the previous owner left behind a lot of things," Haru said to keep their cover.

Yuki immediately felt another stab at her brain. _'Did I really almost forget about these?'_

The worker nodded in understanding. "Ah. Well, I guess I'll just tell the boss to order more paint then. Good luck with your projects!"

"Haru, stop touching those!"

Yuki jumped and looked for the speaker, but the woman was at least an aisle over.

"Frazzled mother, your nine o'clock," the brunette informed the store associate with a gentle smile.

"Sure sounds like it," he mumbled under his breath as he ran to see if the other mother needed help.

Haru kept piling little tubes of paint into the cart as well as paint brushes, but Yuki was still confused.

' _I know Haru is a common name in Japan, but is it that common here?'_ She pulled on her mother's skirt to get her attention. _"How come you didn't jump just now?"_

Her mother flinched but gave her a smile before whispering too softly to be overheard. "I've already met that mother. She's… not the only one to name her daughter after me. You already know Arthur did it, too."

Yuki cocked her head thoughtfully. _"So why do you act like you've been up to nothing good?"_

Haru flinched again, turning her attention back to the paints. "Difference of opinion."

Yuki couldn't shake the feeling that her mother was very much understating the idea. Especially when she caught a glimpse of that other mother wearing a shirt with a black and white picture of Haru on it in a heroic pose with a sword.

But what was up with that overly fluffy cloak she was wearing on the shirt? Her mother didn't have white hair!

ooOoo

"… add in a bookcase for good measure, and we're set. Tim can't get angry at me if they arrive in pieces and he just helps me assemble them after I'm done painting them into something cuter. The two weeks before they get here should be enough for me to at least get a head start on the walls for you. You sure you don't want me to have green carpet installed?" the brunette asked as she finalized her online furniture order. "Maybe tan to fit in with your cattails?"

" _The blue carpet will work just fine, Mom. Thank you for doing all this for me."_

Her mother's eyes melted as she stole another kiss to her growing hair. Scooting away from the desk in her room, she picked up a pencil and nearly ran to Yuki's new room with the girl following her like a little duckling. "You're more than welcome, Sweet Pea. Okay, having the countryside flat will be boring, so how about some hills for interest?"

" _Sounds good, Mom."_

Haru began very lightly drawing the outline of the hills directly onto the walls, pausing every now and then to get her daughter's opinion on one detail or another.

… There really was no one like her mother. By now her life in Japan was feeling like a fading dream, the raw painful memories being soothed by this lady that was so unafraid of going beyond what her child expected of her. For crying out loud, she _framed_ the Christmas tree Yuki had given her and had it hanging in her room despite showing just how much better she could do when getting… just about _anything_ in her pale hands.

A thank you didn't feel like enough. Not after saving her from being bounced between homes like a hot potato and treating the pale child feel like she was worth more than the world.

"… Yuki? Can I ask you something?" Haru said after both of them had been lost in thought for a while.

Her child nodded curiously, making the grown woman leave off marking the walls in order to kneel in front of her child.

It wasn't hard to see she was nervous, even pulling at the edge of her shirt with one hand. "I already have a quilt downstairs that would suit your room's theme, but… I really enjoy making quilts for loved ones completely by hand. Tim begged off one since he loves my machine-made ones already on his beds both here and at his usual home with Bruce, but… the last time I made someone a quilt completely by hand, the one in question pretty much spat in my face for 'wasting my time' on something like that instead of paying someone else to do it. It will take me years since I refuse to hole myself up downstairs and miss out on being with you, and I won't let you see it until it's finished. But would you be willing to have a quilt like that from me?"

Yuki gaped at her with shocked happiness. " _ **If**_ _?"_ she mouthed instead of sign, throwing her little arms around her mother's neck so she could lick her mother's cheek again. _'Drat it, why do I keep doing that instead of kissing?'_

But as usual, her mother didn't do anything about the oddity except call her a goofball again and snuggle her like a beloved toy.

Yuki shivered slightly as her mind thought of a way to repay her sweet devoted mom. Not that what she was planning was dangerous, but…

The mere idea was terrifying.

ooOoo

But since her mother was worth it, the pale child snuck out of her mother's bed before she woke up and slipped out of the house where the snow had melted enough to coax a few wildflowers into blooming.

Grabbing only a modest handful, the white-haired girl raced back into the house and into the kitchen to hurriedly put them in a small cup of water. She didn't know much about cooking but was still able to use the toaster to make a light breakfast for her mother, pouring a glass of almond milk and setting everything on a cookie pan so that she could present it all at the same time.

Taking in a deep breath for what she was about to do, Yuki was forced to put the pan down to quickly open the bedroom door again.

Her mother was still sleeping peacefully, lost in a sweet dream. Yuki didn't want the jam-covered toast to go cold, so she forced herself to take another deep breath for courage and opened her mouth as she stepped closer to her mother's side of the bed.

"Mom? Mom?" she whispered, still hesitant about waking the woman.

Haru turned a bit in her bed, slowly waking up. "S-Sweetie?" she slurred, opening her eyes enough to look at her child.

Yuki smiled and held up the tray a little so she could see the simple breakfast. "For you, Mom."

The older woman's eyes blinked in surprise as she sat up in bed, a smile of delight on her beautiful face. "You're _talking_!"

The blue-eyed girl nodded while setting the pan on the little table next to her mother's side of the bed. Then she looked the woman in the eye and told her _exactly_ what was on her mind. "T-Thank you for adoptink me. Thank you for lettink me talk before I was ready. Thank you for makink me feel so loved. Thank you for tryink so hard to make me happy. You're my milacle. I love you, Mom."

Some of the words were slow and mispronounced since this was her first time speaking English, and her first time speaking so much in general. But since her mother could understand Bruce's embarrassingly broken Japanese, she was certain the woman could understand her just fine.

Haru stared at her, tears streaming down her beaming face long before she gave a strangled sob and pulled her child onto the bed for an almost desperate embrace. Yuki soaked in the love and gratitude happily but didn't at all expect the first thing her mother had to say about her carefully thought out gift.

"Best. Birthday present. Ever!"

xxXxx

Just in case anyone's curious, I'm using my past fics (as well as future fics, mwa ha ha!) for the movies Haru's been in, though her first movie was a human version of An American Tale: Fieval Goes West. Just imagine different or similar names for the other fics for the sake of argument.


	9. Just Let Me

**Chapter Nine: Just Let Me**

 _Why couldn't you just let me make believe?! … I didn't mean to…_

 _-Baby Doll, 'Batman the Animated Series'_

 **xxXxx**

" _You've got a visitor."_

 _Huh. She never thought that a guard would say that to_ _ **her**_ _. But anything would be a welcome relief to her boring little cell._

" _Oh? A reporter?" the inmate purred as two guards roughly put her wrists in handcuffs. 'No point in asking if it's family.'_

" _You'll see," he responded curtly, one guard each taking an arm to escort her to the visiting room._

 _The middle-aged woman was careful not to look too interested, but deep down, she was certain it was a reporter. Or possibly a disguised lackey here to talk her into another heist with whatever villain had a use for her talents._

 _The disgraced scientist looked down at her handcuffed wrists, which were covered with tan, spotted fur. Though her claws were not visible, she could feel them inside her fingertips, ready and willing to rip anything apart. She fought hard not to, but her mind couldn't resist replaying the old insults from her old colleagues._

 _Freak._

 _Disgrace._

… _**Monster**_ _._

 _All of her hard work for nothing! Her blood boiled at the injustice of it all._

 _She was roughly shoved down onto a seat, bringing her mind back to the present. For once, the other side of the bullet-proof glass had a large sheet taped to the visitor side, though she could smell someone was there. Not anyone she knew, judging from the scent._

 _The inmate shifted in her seat a bit so that her long tail could be more comfortable as the soldiers immediately left the room and barricaded it on the other side._

 _Odd. They usually insisted on staying in the room during a visit._

 _Shaking off the strange behavior, the villain used her cuffed hands to adjust the microphone a little. "I know you're there. How was the coast?"_

" _I'm afraid you're just smelling my perfume," answered a slightly familiar sweet voice._

 _Okay,_ _ **that**_ _was a lie. She hadn't smelled an 'ocean' perfume yet that didn't smell more like soap. But why lie over that?_

" _Thank you for agreeing to see me, Dr. Minerva," a surprisingly young lady continued, a smile in her tone._

 _Her jaw dropped in shock. No one had called her that since before those desperate experiments ruined her life. Her furry lips opened and closed, but she couldn't think of a thing to say._

 _A moment passed in silence before her unseen companion spoke again. "I'm sorry, do you prefer Cheetah? I wasn't told how you would prefer to be addressed."_

 _She forced herself to shake her head and answer the question. "D-Dr. Minerva is just fine, thank you. Is there a reason for the sheet?"_

" _I put it up so you could be comfortable. Since a bad incident last year, I kind of have a reputation and I don't want to calm you down before we get to business."_

 _Cheetah cocked her head in amusement. "You_ _ **are**_ _aware that I've spent the past_ _eight_ _years with psychopaths, crooks, and egomaniacs? I doubt anyone with that sweet of a voice could terrify_ _ **me**_ _."_

" _Humor me. I'll take the sheet down after we reach an agreement. To cut to the chase, I want an insider look on what it's like being a feline hybrid. Senses, abilities, possible advantages and disadvantages, that kind of thing."_

 _The spotted cheetah woman blinked in surprise. Whoever was on the other side of the sheet was a reporter or a… "You don't want to be like me," she stated as firmly as possible. "I've been trying to reverse what I did since it ruined my life."_

" _Wait, you_ can _reverse it?" the visitor asked with surprise._

 _Cheetah groaned at the tricky truth. "_ _ **Yes**_ _, but not without a lot of money. At least a million would get me the necessary tools and components to make me human again." She couldn't fight back the disappointed sigh. "But with these looks... the only way I can get that much money is theft."_

" _... Say that someone offered to sponsor your work-" her visitor tried to ask after another full moment of silence._

 _Cheetah didn't bother letting her finish. "It would be a trap. Trust me; anyone willing to shell out that kind of money would want a big payback, bigger than I want responsibility for."_

" _What if this sponsor was able to give you a full guarantee not to even touch your work?" she tried again, turning a little firm. "Would you give up crime afterward?"_

 _She gave a breathy laugh while resting her head on her arms in depression. "There's no way authorities would let me go now, whether I'm Cheetah or Barbara."_

" _I can't promise a thing about your debt to society, Doctor. But if I could get my hands on enough money for you, talk the warden into letting you have a laboratory so you could be normal, would you be happy with our transaction? What if I throw in some reading material for afterwards to sweeten the deal? I bet sitting in a cell gets boring pretty fast."_

… _No. It was too much to hope for. "Why would you go that far for some little facts about me? This had better not be a trick! Who am I talking to?" the half feline demanded angrily._

 _Her visitor took her sweet time considering her words before answering. "This is no trick. The warden is listening to our conversation, and he knows why I'm here. Granted, he thinks I'm crazy for going so far as to visit you, but- beside the point! Dr. Minerva... how can I put this? I'm an idealist. I think that everyone deserves to be happy unless it costs someone else their happiness, and I was feeling guilty that the most I was probably going to be able to give you is money you can't use for another thirty years unless you break out or more comfortable furnishings for your cell. If the worst that comes out of our deal is we both walk away happy and the world is short one super villain... would that really be so bad?" she asked a little wistfully._

 _Barbara's heart ached with yearning. To be able to look in a mirror again without a trace of shame would be a miracle. "... Can you give me your_ _ **word**_ _that this sponsor won't abuse my work? This kind of genetic manipulation can have a hugely negative impact on the world if the wrong hands get it."_

" _Coming from someone that's hung out with psychopaths, crooks, and egomaniacs for eight years, that's saying a lot." After a second of hesitation, a hand gripped the sheet and yanked it down._

 _Cheetah jumped out of her seat with a fearful yowl, backing away towards the door and wishing she wasn't cuffed. 'Her smell should have tipped me off!'_

 _ **Haru Yoshioka**_ _sighed tiredly, but still crossed her heart with a finger. "As far as I'm concerned, Dr. Minerva, you can take a torch to your research after you're back to normal. Unless you figure out a way to change between species at will, because I saw some footage of you doing this really cool backflip over a wall, and that looked like fun!"_

 _The spotted woman was breathing heavily, more than one hair on end from unadulterated_ _ **fear**_ _._

" _But since that's incredibly unlikely, even with your intellect, I'll settle for you becoming human again, since that's what you really want." She leaned her head on one hand with a depressed look of her own._

" _Admit it. If I'm going to turn eliminating super villains into a hobby, this is a much more humane way than last time. Don't you agree?"_

" _... You'll help me? You don't even know me, I'm not your problem," Cheetah tried to remind the woman, trying not to let her heart race with excitement._

 _There was something better in those infamous large brown eyes than pity. There was true_ _ **compassion**_ _. "I repeat; I can see no downside to this arrangement. That is, if you don't mind giving me monthly progress reports. I won't understand any science parts, but maybe an idea of how close you are to achieving your goal. The only thing I have to gain from talking to you is money, possibly a gold statue to clutter my shelves, and something to distract all the people that think I'm a mermaid despite all evidence to the contrary. I promise I don't mind that you're getting the better end of the deal. So… will this be a satisfactory arrangement for you?" she nearly begged through a hopeful smile._

 _Barbara's furry face nearly split in two from her smile of ecstasy. "…_ _ **YES!**_ _A thousand times, yes!"_

xxXxx

Roughly a month after her first words, Yuki was running across the meadow that was her front yard. She was laughing excitedly and out of breath as her hand dove behind a patch of wildflowers and came back out with an egg that was dyed bright pink.

"For peanut butter's sake, Yuki, you're finding them too fast!" Haru tried to scold as she followed a good ten feet away, but her pleased smile didn't make the girl think she was that irritated.

Her yellow and blue sundress's skirt twirled as she sharply began running toward a nearby tree, still laughing to avoid the statement. _'She doesn't like being reminded of her scent, so how can I tell her it's just like following a path?'_

"Even odder, you're finding them in the same sequence I hid the eggs," Haru muttered under her breath as her child reached into the hollow of a tree that wasn't visible from the house's view.

Her small white hand came out with a blue egg colored with crayon daisies.

The older woman's face was a beautiful mixture of pride and irritation. "… Well drat. This was supposed to take thirty minutes, not five. Note to self; there will be no point in playing hide and seek with you unless I need to deflate my ego."

"What's an ego?" Yuki couldn't help but ask, since this was the first time hearing the word in English.

"It's another word for 'pride', sweetie." Haru tapped her chin in thought as her child gave an incredulous snort, setting the last egg in the basket before holding it with both arms.

"What are we going to do with all these eggs?" she asked, holding up the collection for emphasis.

The chickens they had behind the house were still too young for laying, so these had been from the store.

"Eat them, of course. But what else can we do for the rest of the day," she muttered under her breath. "You can only handle one movie a week thanks to your headaches, and you've already finished every puzzle I have. Dang it, I wanted today to be special!"

"It _is_ special!" Yuki protested, wrapping one hand around her mother's before rubbing her face against that familiar touch. "This is the first Easter where no one would try to steal what I find or try to force me to eat chocolate."

" _What_? Didn't anyone know about your allergies?" Haru fumed.

"No. They thought I was whiny. How did _you_ figure out that I have allergies?" Yuki asked curiously, looking up at the brunette with curiosity. "You've never taken me to a doctor or tried to make me eat something bad."

"I've seen allergies like this before, Sweet Pea, and we got lucky that you share my love of fish. Why don't we head inside and relax a while?" the older woman asked, giving the girl a hug before walking back into the house with an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Maybe we could start on another book, or I could just make up a story as I go again."

Yuki giggled, since those stories got silly pretty fast. But as her mother shut the door behind them, the stairway managed to catch Yuki's eye.

Downstairs wasn't that much to look at. Just a laundry room with enough leftover space for an ironing board and tall cupboards for food storage and extra necessities like light bulbs, detergent, and toilet paper.

But _under_ the stairs was anything but known.

Yuki licked her lips thoughtfully before a slow question escaped her. "Mom? Can we explore downstairs today?"

Haru froze in her track, one hand resting on the bookcase as she was looking for a book they hadn't read together yet. "T-today? But it's Easter, shouldn't we save that for some other day?"

"Please? You just said you don't know what else we could do," the white-haired child coaxed with large pleading eyes once she deposited her basket of Easter eggs on the kitchen table.

"… Well, I guess you'll be finding out what's down there sooner or later," her mother answered, less than thrilled as she followed her daughter down the stairs.

As soon as the brunette had both feet off the stairs, Yuki excitedly pressed the button disguised as a screw head.

It didn't take long for the stairs to rise up and for the girl to grab her mother's hand and march down the new flight of stairs.

"The first floor is my sewing room, which you've seen before. Unless you want to explore that one a bit," Haru started hopefully, but Yuki shook her head as she kept walking to the next floor and stopped dead in front of the next door with a hopeful expression.

"… Okay, Snow Angel? What's inside this door… well, let's just say we're prepared if we ever get an intruder," her mother admitted with a guilty expression, pressing her hand against the light next to the door.

ooOoo

"This next room is one I'm a lot less ashamed of; the music studio. My favorite way of making CDs is with this place."

Yuki's mouth dropped when she got a good look at the place. This had the high-pitched sound from even more dots, but it also had an army of instruments lining the walls!

Her mother set her down in order to show her around. "I go ahead and write the lyrics and music wherever I want, and then I record each instrument at a time right here. See all the microphones hanging around?" she asked while pointing at the black sticks literally hanging from the ceiling. Then the woman gestured to a tiny room in the corner that had glass walls and an obvious microphone and chair inside. "After someone else assembles all the music into one piece on a computer, I record the lyrics in there. I'd be happy to do the computer work as well, but my talents have very little to do with technology. Would you like me to play a song for you?"

The child nodded eagerly without a thought. Although her mother didn't really sing outside of soothing her nerves for a bath, dance lessons or helping her get to sleep, she wasn't about to miss out on a chance to hear more of that beautiful voice.

Haru grinned at her, pulling her close enough to sit the child at the piano bench before sitting herself. "Hmm, what's a good song for my sweet snowflake? Oh! Here's one of my favorites!" She started out with a simple tune that had Yuki entranced before her mother opened her mouth.

" _Do mi so do do so mi do_

" _Every truly cultured music student knows_

" _You must learn your scales and your arpeggios_

" _Bring the music ringing from your chest_

" _And not your nose_

" _While you sing your scales and your arpeggios…_ "

Yuki didn't see the other floors that day, since the rest of Easter was spent on making her mother sing song after song, letting that soothing voice wash over her in a way that water could never imitate or compare.

ooOoo

The next two days were spent in Haru's treasure room, although her mother called it a souvenir room. It was full of little treasures she had collected in her career and travels.

Yuki's arms were happily full of a bag-like stuffed white cat and some adorable cat figurines that she was being allowed to keep. "How many movies have you _been_ in to collect this much treasure?"

"Um, over fifty?" the brunette answered with a nervous smile while lovingly brushing her hand over the white faux-bearskin cloak draped over a mannequin. "I lost track of how many after number fifty, though two of them haven't come out in theatres yet. But to be fair, some of them were movie trilogies and I once did a pretty successful television show. I once worked myself so hard that a doctor wound up _ordering_ me to take at least a month off a year without recovering from an injury because I was wearing myself out." She then pouted like a child. "Never mind the fact that Dad had to carry my unconscious body to the hospital the time I went too far at work. But hey, it wasn't _my_ fault that Dad literally bribed me into such a fun career!"

Yuki was listening to every word, but her brain still felt numb from the number of movies. She slowly looked up at her beloved mother, taking in her youthful appearance.

Haru didn't look a day over sixteen. Maybe she was a former child actor?

"How old were you for your first movie?" Yuki quizzed.

"Eighteen," she answered promptly, her eyes fading away with a soft smile that was both joy and pain. " _Man,_ if I had only known the wild ride I was in for all those years ago. I wonder if I'd have done anything differently, at least career-wise. Maybe skip the- no, a lot of good came from that."

Yuki's jaw dropped. Haru was older? _Way_ older?!

Her mother caught her staring. She didn't say anything at first, but her eyes slowly became sadder as the silence turned awkward. "I just turned forty, Sweetie."

Yuki's jaw would have dropped to the floor if her it hadn't been attached to her head.

Haru struggled with a sympathetic smile. "Don't feel bad, people mistake me for a teenager all the time. Women on Mom's side of the family take their sweet time aging," she grumbled under her breath, staring at the long line of golden trophies and remaining dolls protected by glass shelves imbedded in one of the walls. "I guess I got off lucky; there was another actress that stopped aging at your age and couldn't be taken seriously for anything other than a cheesy sitcom. Life hasn't been kind to her since."

"… What happened to her?" Yuki asked, not sure how someone that looked her own age could take care of herself without interference from nosy but well-meaning strangers.

"She's a permanent resident of an insane asylum. I'm told one of her coping methods is throwing darts at a poster of me over having the same problem but looking like a teenager. Never mind the fact that my condition's… Oh, here's something that brings back memories!" Haru gushed, sharply turning the conversation to a painting that had been mostly behind boxes before she pulled it out. "I thought I lost this one!"

"Mom? Are you sick?" Yuki asked worriedly.

"No, I promise I'm fine." Haru sighed as she stared at the painting. "It's too bad I can't display this around upstairs. If anyone that didn't know the truth saw this, it would almost be as obvious as wearing a sign around my neck. Hmm, I could hang this up in the music room…"

Yuki took a look, a little surprised that the one in the painting looked just like one of the dolls Haru had given her. That handsome tabby was reading a book with one hand and lowering a cup of tea with the other while sitting on a red high back chair. Those large green eyes were riveted on 'Pride and Prejudice' like nothing else could be of importance.

Yuki blinked, and took a closer look at the dolls still sitting in their glass shelves. Come to think of it, most of the cat dolls looked like slight variations of one tawny cat with a fondness for a light suit and top hat. Her mother had only let her keep one of those.

"Mom? What's with the orange kitty?"

Haru snapped out of looking at the painting with a wistful expression. "Huh? Did you say something, Sweetie?"

The little girl struggled not to drop the dolls as she pointed at the painting with her head. "Who's that kitty? Another friend?"

"What? Oh no, Baron isn't a real person, Sweetie. He's a stock character from my work, usually ends up being my love interest or really good friend that's implied to turn into a love interest by the time the movie's over."

Yuki cocked her head but took several steps away from her mother down the narrow aisle between tables and scattered boxes.

"Sweetheart? Is something wrong?" Haru asked worriedly.

Yuki gently set most of the dolls next to a table leg before holding the Baron doll in such a way that the distance from her mother made it look like the two were roughly the same size.

Her strange blue eyes widened at the sight. "That looks right," she whispered.

Haru blinked once before shaking her head with an amused laugh. "Great. You've never even seen the action between us, and even **you** ship it. Wait, _did_ you see any of my work before meeting me?" she asked suspiciously.

Yuki shook her head slowly, unable to shake how _right_ the two looked together. "No, I had no clue who you were when we met. Are you **sure** Baron doesn't exist?" she pleaded.

Her mother gave a depressed shrug. "There are people _like_ him that exist, but none are specifically him. Dad wound up being an awful lot like him, though he didn't look a thing like it." She then scowled, tucking the portrait into one arm and gesturing for Yuki to grab her toys and follow her out of the souvenir room. "I promise you I have been accused more than once of holding out for the real Baron, but I doubt that someone completely like him could exist. Not that it matters even if he did."

"Because of how you look?" Yuki asked once she managed to gather her things so Haru could lock the room again.

Haru struggled with her answer as she waited for her daughter to join her at the door. "… It plays a part. You'll know everything when you turn twelve."

ooOoo

Haru back flipped off the bars and landed solidly on the practice mat, holding her arms out like an Olympic gymnast. "Ta da!"

Yuki giggled as she clapped her hands inside the gymnasium half of the next floor, the other of which was reserved for dance practice. She could hear the buzzing sound in this room as well but couldn't exactly do anything about it with her mother right there. "You're very graceful, Mommy!"

"Which is strange, considering how often I play a klutz," the brunette muttered under her breath, sitting next to her child and draining a water bottle of its contents. "But it's helped for the times I played a cat."

Yuki looked up in surprise. "You played a cat?"

Haru snuck in a nod while twisting her spine until it cracked. "It was usually a half-cat hybrid, like your dolls. It was supposed to be a one-time gig as a Nutcracker parody, thanks to your eccentric grandfather's imagination. But then every job my agents would sign me up for started having something to do with falling in love with a cat or turning into one or both. Usually both so that I could wind up with Baron and not get the censors angry, but there were times he became a human for me." A wry smile crossed her lips. "I guess that's what happens when you consult the leading expert on cat-ism for how to convincingly play a cat. But I never minded. It was always fun to play with the idea."

Yuki didn't answer, still seeing 'Baron' in her mind's eye.

Her mother tapped her water bottle against her chin in thought. "There's only one more level left to check out after this; the swimming pool."

The white-haired girl snapped to attention, feeling a sick pit in her stomach. "P-Pool?"

Her mother nodded before continuing. "One of the first things I agreed on with the guy that designed this house was that it would be smartest to have the pool be at the bottom so that I don't have to worry if a leak is going to eventually drip through the other floors. It's where I'm going to teach you how to swim," she said nonchalantly, as if telling Yuki what she was planning for dinner.

Her entire body trembled at the thought. "Um, Mom? I don't like water, remember?"

Haru distractedly nodded again. "I remember. I'm going to help you tolerate it."

"I still need your help with baths," Yuki reminded her.

"One day you won't," her mother confidently answered.

Since that wasn't getting her point across, the little girl tried again. "Mommy, I don't want to learn how to swim."

"But you're going to."

"I don't want to," Yuki insisted, raising her voice and her temper for the first time since Japan.

"That was never the question, Sweet Pea," the brunette answered in that same firm but gentle manner.

"I won't!"

Haru's voice turned much sterner than her normal tone. "Yuki, I am your mother. You _will_ learn this."

"NO! I! **WON'T** " she screamed at the top of her lungs, mentally thinking about throwing the woman across the room in frustration.

Much to her shock… that's exactly what happened.

Haru lifted into the air as if by an invisible hand and was sharply thrown, only knocking over a few pieces of equipment before slamming into a wall to cut off the surprised scream.

She did not get up or groan at the pain.

" _Mom_!" Yuki screamed, scrambling to the woman's side to shake a shoulder. "Mom! Mom, wake up! I didn't kill you, did I?!"

… She hadn't. She could hear her mother breathing after a few seconds, slow and haggard from the unexpected abuse.

Her hand came off her mother's shoulder so that Yuki could stare at herself with horror. She took first one step backwards, and then several as she realized what this latest incident had done to the one person she could ever remember loving.

Tears burst out of her eyes as she began crying her heart out. "I-I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean it, I didn't…"

xxXxx

A/N; Scales and Arpeggios is from Aristocats. It will show up again.


	10. Run or Learn

**Chapter Ten:** **Run or Learn**

 _Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it._

 _-Rafiki, 'The Lion King'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Haru was being unusually quiet. True, she was usually quiet, but... there was a difference between her 'friendly' quiet and her 'self-loathing' quiet. Unfortunately, her companion could tell that her current mood was the latter._

" _Is any of this starting to look familiar?" James asked in a pleasing British accent as he turned a corner of a street in a small fishing town._

" _No. The old man barely ever let me leave the house. He'd take Vicky out all the time, though," she admitted, her eyes still distant. "The only reason the cops figured out who I belonged to is because one of them thought I was Vicky."_

 _Another wave of sympathy filled his heart. This angel didn't deserve a_ _ **fraction**_ _of what she had confided in him. When she told him about her planned trip, what could he do but at least make sure that she had some support for what she was planning, as well as someone being there in case things went south?_

" _My old home was up there," Haru suddenly noted, pointing up to where a series of storage sheds now rested on top of a hill. "I guess they tore it down."_

" _I'm guessing it was pretty small?" James asked as he continued a little further down the road until reaching the ocean's edge._

 _Haru didn't answer outside of a nod. Her eyes were locked on the unassuming beach. Slowly, she unbuckled herself and let herself out of the passenger seat as her dear friend parked._

 _James shut off the car in order to grab the beach bag and follow her, which was easy at first. Then her speed increased as she headed to several large rocks that were closer to the storage sheds, but somewhat obscured from plain view._

 _He was a little out of breath by the time he caught up to the twenty-year-old woman as she knelt between two large rocks, her gaze locked onto the seascape before her. "What… are you looking for?" he gasped._

 _The brunette didn't answer at first, reaching into her coat pocket for the disposable camera she had bought before the trip and carefully snapping a picture from the peculiar view. "Right here._ _ **This**_ _is where it happened."_

' _She remembers the exact spot? Her amnesia has_ _ **definitely**_ _worn off.'_

 _Haru lowered the camera, still staring off towards the ocean's edge as her expression kept changing between grief and anger._

 _Although fury wasn't the best look on her, James inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that she was_ _ **finally**_ _willing to get angry over something. As highly as she placed forgiveness and patience, anger was sometimes a necessary tool for turning situations around to one's favor._

 _She was still kneeling, so he gently squeezed one of her delicate shoulders. "Did you want to do it now, or just reminisce today?"_

"… _Today," she confirmed, pulling off her jacket._

 _Although he knew for a fact that she was wearing a wet suit under her street clothes, the strangely built man still turned around out of respect._

' _You still can't see how you've changed me?' the middle-aged man thought wistfully, gripping his slim hands into self-loathing fists. 'I used to enjoy the show without batting an eyelash.'_

" _You can look now," her sweet voice informed him, folding her clothes and slipping them into the beach bag in his hand along with her shoes._

" _Sweetheart, that water's bound to be freezing," he tried to warn her again as she walked toward the salt water's edge._

" _I have a higher tolerance for the cold," she responded, stopping dead just outside where the waves touched the sand. "I've had to."_

 _She stayed there for a full minute, not moving a muscle as she stared into the endless Pacific. Doubtlessly lost in memories that no six-year-old should have experienced. Twice a shudder racked her body from the thought of what she was here to do._

 _James came up behind her and stole a deep hug. "It doesn't have to be here. I have a pool back home that would be much safer for a first time, you know that."_

 _Her arms came up to squeeze his before gently making him let go of her, turning just enough to give him a loving smile that made everything else fade in his vision._

" _This is where my first demon was born. This is where it's going to die." Taking in a deep breath for courage, she finally began forcing herself to march into the cold saltwater._

xxXxx

Yuki moved into her own room that day. She didn't have that many possessions, and Haru had tried to talk her out of it, but the child couldn't so much as make herself look at her mother again.

Not after hurting her like that. She deserved to be thrown out to another foster agency for throwing the only person to have loved her against a wall.

' _Never mind that Mom just thinks she fell asleep after showing off too much to wake up so sore._ _ **I know**_ _what I did.'_

"Sweetheart?" her mother called, knocking politely on the other side of the door. "It's time for dinner. I'm afraid it's only sandwiches and salad today; I'm not feeling up to making anything more. Please come out."

Yuki curled up where she had laid some blankets on the floor, cuddling the huge stuffed cat that Haru had given her. She rubbed the brown ear with her cheek, curling into as tight of a ball as she could. "I'm not hungry," she murmured in depression.

"Honey, unlock the door so I can hear you."

"I'm not hungry!" she called back, trying to keep her self-hatred out of the volume.

"You sure? Well, your dinner will be waiting in the fridge when you're ready, Sweetness. I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight; feel free to join me if you're not sure you're ready to sleep alone."

Yuki wasn't sure if she was ready, but she _was_ sure that she didn't deserve to snuggle up to her mom. "I'm okay. See you tomorrow."

"See you then. Love you," Haru called before limping down the hall.

Yuki's lip trembled at the unsteady pace, gripping her stuffed cat like it was the only thing she had ever owned. After her sharp ears determined that her mother had gone to bed, she wept into her pillow until succumbing to the darkness herself.

ooOoo

 _Haru stared at her, tears falling down her cheeks as she took a fearful step back. "You did that to me?"_

" _It was an accident, I didn't mean it, Mom! Please forgive me!" she begged, racing forward to claim another hug._

 _But the brunette sidestepped her, shaking her head as the house seemed to crumble to dust around them. "I just wanted us to be happy together. How can I trust you not to hurt me again? Can you make the incidents stop happening?"_

" _I don't know how! Please help me, they almost stopped after meeting you! I need your help, please don't turn away," she begged as her own tears ran down pale cheeks._

 _Her mother seemed to wave back and forth as tears blurred her image._ " _What could I possibly know about what's wrong with you?! I know about movies, weapons, and art, and you aren't any of those!" A dreadful silence followed, as if a terrible decision was being made._

 _"… Maybe I'm not the best person to raise you."_

Yuki snapped awake with a sob, shaking from the terrible nightmare.

It was still early, barely any light was shining through her windows.

Feeling like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all, Yuki slowly got up from her blankets and made her way to the bathroom.

A great sense of déjà vu overcame her after taking care of needed business and using her glass by the bathroom sink for a drink. _'This is almost like that last day with Machida. Maybe I should have stayed with him so that Mom wouldn't get hurt. She didn't do anything to deserve that kind of treatment.'_

The young girl briefly wondered if she should wander off again to keep her mother safe, but soon rejected the idea. The closest place to go was half an hour by car, and her mother had warned her about wolves sometimes being spotted around here, which was why she wasn't allowed outside alone.

' _What can I do to keep from hurting her again?'_ she wondered while walking back to her room. She briefly thought about the sandwich in the fridge but decided against it. After all, what was the point of eating if you weren't hungry?

She closed her door and locked it before going back to her blankets. _'Maybe… if I stay away from Mom enough, the incidents won't happen again.'_

It wasn't much, but it was all she had to protect her loved one. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for her to figure out just how _boring_ such a course of action was. All that was in the room was a box of her clothes, her small selection of toys, and the blankets she had slept in.

The cat figurines were only supposed to sit on a shelf, but Yuki laid on the blue carpet on her stomach, dismally turning two of the dolls this way and that as if they were dancing or in conversation.

The one in her right hand was the tabby Mom had told her about, but in the left hand was a beautiful white cat dressed every inch a lady. Yuki leaned the female forward slightly to imitate a curtsy as Baron tipped slightly forward to make a bow.

After a while, she switched out the lady cat for a doll that was obviously meant to be her mother. She had longer hair than her mother, though, and large brown eyes that could wish no one ill will.

It was almost silly to see the two side by side, since he was in a Western suit and she was in a traditional kimono. He was a cat, she was a human. Nothing about them said that they could have been a couple in any movie, let alone over fifty.

So why was it so _**easy**_ for her to see them together?

"If you were real, could you have stopped me?" she asked Baron, moving the figurines side by side. "Would _you_ have known how to help me?"

He did nothing but continue his blank-eyed stare.

Yuki growled under her breath. "I guess that's what I get for asking a doll. I bet Mom wouldn't try to make _you_ learn how to swim."

Still no answer, so the blue-eyed girl tipped the figurine a few times as if he was nodding.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

ooOoo

Yuki wasn't sure when she had started drifting off, but as soon as she felt arms wrapping around her, large blue eyes snapped open. "No!"

"Relax, Sweetie, it's just me," Haru crooned lovingly while lifting the girl and turning to leave the bedroom.

"No, Mom, you shouldn't be carrying me," she pleaded frantically while attempting to wiggle free of her mother's arms.

"Oh, honey, if _only_ these were the worst injuries I've had," the brunette laughed, settling the girl next to her on the extremely comfy grey couch facing the white wall. "I decided to take today off over them, but I couldn't imagine watching a movie without my little lady."

The white-haired child tried to slip off the couch while her mother was distracted with using a remote to lower black out curtains, but that grip was too strong.

Still gentle, though.

"Mom, I'm not up to a movie."

"Pretty please? For me?" her mother begged, intentionally making her already huge eyes as large and watery as possible. "I promise it's one you'll appreciate, and I miss you."

Yuki was having a hard time keeping so much as the will to escape as her mother affectionately rubbed her face against her daughter's lengthening locks. "You saw me yesterday."

"That's far too long for me, Sweetness." The brunette pointed the remote behind her at the projector and player to start the movie.

It wasn't one that Yuki had seen before. Frankly, the ice-cutting beginning had almost been enough to lull her back to sleep until the two sisters came on the scene.

But once the older one started waving her hands to create snow miracles, her attention was fixed.

Yuki gasped as an icy blast accidentally hit the younger sister, unintentionally making her relive hurting her devoted mother.

"Just keep watching, Snow Angel," her mother murmured, again preventing the child's escape.

That was the last thing she wanted, since that was only the beginning of bad luck to happen to the young girl that had ice incidents.

Except… she had started out being able to handle the snow, even summoning it for playtime. But the older she got, the worse her control and fear became, leading to the older sister being so afraid of her powers hurting anyone that she almost caused an Ice Age that would have killed everything and left her more alone than before.

The only reason that was prevented? The unwavering love of the only family she had left, no matter what Elsa did to push her away. Despite every bad thing that happened to both sisters, they were together and happy at the end. Even the romance had taken a back seat to the love between Elsa and Anna! Watching movies usually made the girl's head ache, but she couldn't help loving this one.

Her mother shut off the TV before the ending credits could roll and got off the couch to kneel in front of Yuki and take the girl's hands. She took her sweet time gathering her courage before speaking.

"... The reason I was afraid of water growing up... was because I almost drowned once. The day I lost my mom. I was six."

Yuki's mouth fell open in horror.

"I watched her go beneath the waves and went after her. I didn't know how to swim, but she was all I had, all I cared about. After..." Haru took in a deep cleansing breath before continuing. "When I realized she was gone, I was so traumatized that I gave myself amnesia. I thought it was easier to handle not remembering a mom than to remember losing her. I forgot everything _except_ my fear of water. One of the few mercies I was allowed with the old man was that I had thick rubber gloves for water chores, but only because _he_ hated how I smell when I get wet. Kids my age made fun of me, would carry water pistols, imitate a melting Wicked Witch of the West, you name it."

The small girl couldn't stop staring. Her mother _hated_ talking about this sort of thing.

"One time a little after our first movie came out in theatres, I was watching the Little Mermaid with Dad. We started talking about what could have made the plot a little stronger, less cliched, and next thing I know, he's trying to get me to star in a mermaid movie for him. He knew I hated water, but thought I was a little old for such a fear. He sent me to a shrink to help me get over it as well as my other family issues while he worked on a script. … It's been a mixed blessing, losing my amnesia," she forced herself to admit, although there was plenty of pain in her maple eyes.

"But this is why I'm telling you about it. When I forced myself to swim the first time with a bit of coaching from Dad... I was _good_ at it! Good enough that there are _still_ rumors floating around that I'm at least part mermaid."

Yuki broke down laughing from such an idea. She didn't know much about mermaids but was fairly certain that they were boy-crazy; a quality her sweet mother didn't possess.

When she was finally able to look up at Haru, all the child could see in those warm brown eyes was love and gratitude. Enough to pull her in for a deep and meaningful embrace.

"You have no idea how happy that reaction made me, sweetheart." She pressed a kiss against Yuki's hair before continuing. "When you get right down to it, I wasted my childhood being afraid of a talent over one admittedly bad experience. Don't expect me to downplay that; the only days it doesn't hurt is when I don't think about Mom or what growing up was like. But I don't want you to make mine or Elsa's mistake. As you can see, suppressing your fears is more trouble than it's worth."

Haru then released her daughter's hands in order to gently cup the face she loved so much. "Honey… if someone finds out where we are and that you are afraid of water… I hate to think about it. But if I can't save you, it's not smart to wait for someone else to do it. If you know how to take care of yourself whether I'm around or not, I'll rest a lot easier." She looked down in shame, forcing herself to continue.

"There was someone I ruined once, by giving in to his every demand. By the time I realized what I'd done, it was too late to reverse the damage. If I at least occasionally make you do something you're not crazy for, it'll be good for you in the long run. Do you understand why I want this so much for you now?"

Yuki bit her lip but nodded. "I still don't want to, but… I'll do it."

Haru breathed a long sigh of relief before kissing her daughter's forehead. "Unfortunately, Sweet Pea, this logic counts for self-defense as well. I'll start you off with acrobatics and karate while your body is still flexible enough for it, and we'll move upward when you hit twelve."

The white-haired girl shrank at the idea. There wasn't a single weapon in her mother's armory that she was interested in learning how to use. But she didn't want to get into another fight and risk hurting her mother again.

Unlike last time the thought crossed her mind, Yuki took it into careful consideration. "Mom?" she asked slowly. "What if I… had a way to protect myself that isn't like your way?"

Haru was surprised at such a question but shrugged it off after a second. "I never said my way was the best way. If you can convince me that your way works, I won't force my way on you other than some basic cheats. Deal?"

Yuki beamed, tackling her with another hug.

"Ow, the back! The back is still sore!"

"Sorry, Mom," the younger girl apologized in a heartbeat, wondering if she should tell her mother about the incidents.

… No. This was a wonderful loving moment in spite of her mother's back. Yuki nuzzled the woman happily, realizing what she had to do to make her future argument convincing.

ooOoo

She couldn't do it in her room. Now that her mother was using the space to paint her furniture and finish the wall mural, Yuki was sitting in the living room, an open book in front of her as classical music played sweetly to Haru's silent brushstrokes.

' _Okay, Yuki. Deep breaths. Use love instead of anger or fear.'_ She opened her eyes, remembering the feel of her mother's arms as she mentally gave out a command.

The first page fluttered in acknowledgement before slowly and laboriously trying to turn.

Yuki let out an exhausted breath after a long moment of effort, making the page fall back into its former place. She panted, not used to using her incidents like this. Or should she call it magic? Whatever her gift was, she needed to be in complete control when the time came to tell her mother about her unusual ability.

Clearing her mind, she thought long and hard about how loved Haru made her feel.

The page turned slowly, but at least it came to rest on the opposite side of the book.

The young girl almost laughed with delight but forced herself to stay quiet so her mother wouldn't hear her and wonder what was going on in the living room.

Still smiling, Yuki did her best to turn another page with only her mind. Her lips were curved into a smile as a song began whispering through her soul.

" _If you're faithful to your daily practicing_

" _You will find your progress is encouraging_

"Um… something, something, something," she added distractedly, not remembering the exact words as the page fell. It didn't help that she didn't have much of a singing voice, but as long as she kept whispering, the sound wouldn't bother her mother.

Shaking off the thought, she returned to her exercise, forcing another page to shakily turn.

" _Though at first it seems as though it doesn't show_

" _Like a tree ability will bloom and grow_

" _If you're smart you'll learn by heart what every artist knows!"_

Ha! She got that page to turn, too!

" _You must sing your scales and your ar-pe-gi-os!_ "

xxXxx

Do I _really_ need to state what movie Haru showed Yuki? No? Good.


	11. Today

**Chapter Eleven: Today**

 _Mawwaige. Mawwaige is what bwings us togevah, today!_

 _-The Impressive Clergyman, 'The Princess Bride'_

 **xxXxx**

' _How many times am I going to do this? Kill someone, wait to be punished in some unfamiliar hallway even though I already know this is going to be seen as a public service, and wish the whole time that there had been another way to solve that problem.' Haru sighed tiredly, tapping her fingers against her legs out of sheer nervousness._

 _It didn't help that the two guards standing on either side of her weren't that interested in talking. If they hadn't moved closer to her thanks to a royal command, she might have suspected that they were only statues._

 _After far too long, the large door nearby slammed open, louder than thunder._

 _Haru yelped at the sound, jumping out of her seat as a well-dressed older woman did a surprisingly feminine version of marching in order to reach the brunette, with her daughter and son-in-law following close behind._

 _On the bright side, the younger couple were looking at her worshipfully instead of with anger._

" _Your majesty, your highnesses," Haru greeted softly, giving the trio a polite curtsy. 'Thank you, Dad, for making me learn this!'_

 _Never mind that she was an American, she could still give the proper respect to royalty._

" _Miss Yoshioka." The queen could have been giving a proclamation from her volume and clarity._

 _Haru had a nasty suspicion that the other side of the palace was going to hear whatever the queen had to say._

" _For your actions on my grandson's behalf, you will be summoned back to the palace at eleven promptly tomorrow. Do you have attire suitable for an appearance at court?"_

 _Haru cocked an eyebrow, feeling a bit uneasy at such a question. "No, but I could go shopping if you wish." 'Why on earth does she care about my wardrobe? Jenna's not going to like delaying our flight to Paris.'_

 _She frowned in thought. "That is chancy at best. Tell Phillip that he will need to take measurements shortly," the matronly queen ordered an attendant, who immediately passed on the information through a radio. "Perhaps he has a dress that can be customized for our special guest."_

 _The brunette wanted to ask what the queen was planning, but this was her first time speaking to royalty. She wasn't certain what she was or wasn't allowed to say or ask._

 _While turning her gaze to the American, the queen's eyes turned a great deal softer than they had since meeting the super star. "… Albert thinks you only put them to sleep, Miss Haru." Her voice had turned just as soft._

 _The brunette nodded in misery. "That was intentional, your majesty. I didn't want to… not in front of a_ _ **child**_ _," she explained lamely, feeling even more like a monster. "They would have deserved it, but he didn't deserve to see what I_ _ **really**_ _wanted to do to them."_

 _The princess threw her arms around the surprised brunette's shoulders, unable to restrain herself any more. "I take back every unkind thing I've ever said or thought about you," the crown princess wept, clinging to her eight-year-old son's rescuer._

 _Haru didn't bother asking what kind of things the princess meant. There were plenty of people willing to call out her long list of sins. Even if a majority of the cowards did it through anonymous hate mail._

 _Skipping to the important part, she wrapped her own arms around the blonde royal and gave a warm squeeze. "Thank you, your highness."_

xxXxx

Yuki gave a long, happy stretch as she yawned herself awake. Her large blue eyes opened to the hoop overhead supporting her sheer white canopy, the present light telling her that it was time to get up. The basset hound at the foot of her bed had been asleep as well but mimicked his master's wake-up method when she tried to slip out of bed without waking him.

"Sorry, Toby. You can go back to sleep if you want," the ten-year-old girl comforted him while picking out clothes from her prettily-painted dresser.

"Arf woof!" he responded, hopping off the bed to beg for affection.

"Easy, boy. We'll play soon enough," she promised through a giggle, picking out a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt. It only took a few minutes to brush out her thick shoulder-length hair before tying it back with a pink hair band.

The white-haired girl looked around her room while fixing her hair, still feeling a bit of guilt over all the bookcases her mother hadn't initially counted on. They were all full of books and the occasional toy, but they completely covered up the beautiful mural that had taken her mother five months to paint for her.

The small dog raced for the front door as soon as she exited her room, jumping through the dog flap that had been installed shortly after he had been brought to the Refuge. He barked impatiently for her from the other side of the door.

"Coming, Toby," she sighed with a smile, taking a small detour for an empty egg carton. Just before opening the front door, she held her ear against the door for a familiar sound. A sound like a falling log was soon heard.

Yuki grinned as she finally opened the front door, letting the crisp spring air caress her skin. "Morning, Mom!"

Haru looked up from chopping wood to give her a loving smile and shoulder her long braid out of the way again. "Morning, Sweet Pea! Did you and Toby sleep well?" she cooed as the hound raced up to the brunette for a good ear scratch.

"No dreams, but I feel great. Are… you sleeping better?" she asked hesitantly. _'She looks like she's been chopping for hours already.'_

Her lower jaw tightened slightly, a familiar sign that she didn't want to answer as her fingers scratched at a satisfied Toby's ears.

Fingers that still moved around sweat and dirt-soiled bandages. "These things take time, Sweetheart. Would you feel better if I follow you to the coop?"

Yuki smiled while shaking her head. "I should be okay. If I see anything, though-"

"Call me," her mother finished, giving her a sad smile.

"Always," Yuki assured her, marching to the back side of the house towards the chicken coop, avoiding the odd snow drift that hadn't melted yet. She usually was off in her own world this early in the morning, but since two weeks ago, she had learned to keep her eyes peeled to the forest surrounding her home.

"Want to play fetch, boy?" she asked, using her power to levitate a random stick now that they were out of eyeshot of her mother.

The basset didn't know that her ability was strange, so his only reaction was to lower the front half of his body lower in a playing position, his tail wagging happily at the old game.

"Fetch, Toby!" Yuki called, throwing the stick far enough to distract her dog so that she could slip into the fastened chicken wire fence. _'No matter how hilarious it is when you get in here, the chickens don't need a heart attack.'_

There were only four of them inside the fence, which more often than not left them with more eggs than they could use. But at least the soup kitchen in town didn't mind home-grown eggs when she and her mother couldn't keep up with eating all of them.

Since she wasn't about to tempt those sharp beaks, the ten-year-old merely opened the carton and concentrated on _feeling_ the hardness of the eggs beneath the feathers.

Six eggs gently and carefully wiggled themselves out from under the sleeping hens, briefly shook of the random straw and poop clinging to them, and floated into her carton without a fuss.

By the time she came out of the coop, her beloved dog was giving her the puppy eye routine, pawing sadly at the chicken wire fence with the stick still in his mouth. A pleading whine escaped his throat.

Yuki briefly looked around them to make sure that neither wolves or her mother were around. Satisfied that she was alone, the stick began struggling against the hound's teeth. Toby's eyes lit up as he tugged hard on the stick, enjoying the little tug of war. Another stick rose up to command his attention before being thrown like the first.

"Fetch, boy!" Yuki called, making the basset drop the first stick to go after the second with a happy bark. She giggled at his antics while checking the food and water for the chickens. _'Hmm. Running a little low on both.'_ Reaching up, she briefly pulled on a lever that opened the hose from the water bucket down to the ones that the hens drank from. A similar lever was the only thing needed for their feeding trough.

Her mother was so proud of her little inventions, despite how mundanely Yuki used them. But at least the girl could see an actual use for an automatic feeder over, say, that mini trebuchet that her mother had been begging for.

' _I can't wait until Mom lets me use the power tools instead of just making the blueprints.'_ "Done already, Toby? Here, go fetch!" she called again, making the first stick take flight just as her dog came running back to the coop.

By the time the hound had finished retrieving that stick as well, Yuki had slipped out and secured the fencing again. "Sorry, boy. Mom doesn't like you getting near the chickens, remember? Go fetch!" This time, she aimed a stick to the side of the house that was bordering closer to her mother to save time, still keeping her eyes on the woods as she marched around her home.

But as soon as she came in sight of her mother, every single one of her senses started _screaming_ that they were being watched. She looked around frantically for the one responsible, but could find nothing beyond the trees.

Not even another wolf.

"This is wonderful! Do they want me to compose something?" Haru asked excitedly, talking on the phone with her back to her daughter. "No, of course not; I meant the reception! Please do, and specify whether or not she wants a score or lyrics. But our passports are… you sure? Felicia, you're a _gem_. Before noon for certain. How soon do they want to see us? Mmh, I'd have to make arrangements, how about two weeks? Really, just one? All right, I'll talk to you then, thanks for being amazing!" After turning off her phone, she actually twirled around with a happy squeal.

"Mom? Are we going somewhere?" Yuki asked curiously as Toby joined her side with a stick in his mouth.

It didn't help that the 'being watched' feeling wasn't going away.

Haru beamed at her, racing the needed steps in order to sweep her daughter off her feet for an impromptu dance lesson. "We've been invited to a royal wedding!"

"We _have_?!" Yuki yelped in shock, though her feet had no problem keeping up with her mother's footing as Toby woofed happily at the wonderful mood. "Where? Who?"

"Remember what I told you about a Prince Albert? He's getting married to his college sweetheart, but they're trying to keep things quiet for now. His mother wants me to be there for support and security through the planning as well as the actual event."

Yuki sighed as her mother dipped and twirled her. "It's too bad his grandma couldn't see this."

"Yes. She was very doting to Albert, a wonderful queen," her mother agreed, the happiness fading into melancholy as she and her daughter slowed like wind-up dolls until they were merely standing in an embrace. "I hate to say it, but we'll have to find chicken-sitters- no, we're a bit too far out of the way for someone from town to come out here twice a day," Haru fretted, kneeling down to rub Toby's willing belly. "I think I better call Ted and ask if he'd just keep them until we get back. He has so many that four more shouldn't be any trouble for him."

The ten-year old bit her lip, wishing that whoever was watching would go away. "What about my dog? How long will we be gone?"

Haru snapped to attention. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. I'll make sure Felicia knows we're bringing him."

"Won't the queen get upset?" Yuki couldn't help fretting.

"Are you kidding?" Haru held a hand to the side of her mouth as she pretended to whisper a juicy bit of gossip. "The entire royal family of Mondorra is made up of dog lovers."

The young girl suppressed a shudder. Her little basset hound had helped with her canine phobia, but that didn't necessarily mean that other dogs could stand her now.

"Besides, Toby's so well-behaved that he'd win all of them over anyway, wouldn't you, boy?" she cooed as the basset who might as well have turned to putty in her hands.

He only licked her wrist affectionately for an answer.

While her mother was distracted, Yuki looked up and around, still trying to figure out who was watching them. Still nothing, but she had grown too in tune with her senses to even think of dismissing the feeling.

"Sweetie… I know this is a little mean of me, but I'd like you to do Albert a favor," Haru murmured slowly, looking up at her daughter who immediately stopped searching to fake a smile.

"I'm not designing a trebuchet for the reception," she teased, elbowing her mother. "No matter how fun _you'd_ find it."

A warm laugh escaped Haru's worry. "Party pooper. No, that's not it. You've always… had a gift for telling when someone is worth the trouble. Would you mind… keeping an eye on Alexandra after you meet her?" she pleaded. "I don't want Albert to wind up with a harpy or gold-digger. I'll back you up if you find a reason they should call off the wedding."

Yuki bit one finger nervously. "Wouldn't that cause an incident?"

"Oh no, another scandal. Whatever will I do?" the brunette asked in the most bland, uninterested tone she could manage, making her child giggle. "Sweetie, I publicly embarrassed myself over Albert once. I promise he'll be worth getting publicly embarrassed again if Alexandra isn't who Albert thinks she is. Please, for an old friend of mine, will you keep an eye on the bride to be?"

"Sure. For you. … But if you're so worried, then why were you happy about the invitation?" she asked, leaning down to get at Toby's exposed belly as well.

A silly, happy smile lit up her mother's face as her eyes seemed to travel to the past. "Queen Angelica and I got along pretty well after my infamous introduction, and I'm looking forward to personally seeing the kind of person Albert's turned into. On top of that, this is going to be a much more interesting vacation than that theme park and museum we were planning on this summer. It will be a great way to expand your knowledge about other cultures and meet new people."

"Tim won't be able to come, though," she pined with a pout. She had been looking forward to seeing her amazing cousin again for the summer.

Haru gave her a loving smile while rubbing her daughter's head. "Well, to be fair, he _is_ in college now. We'll make it up to him when we get back. Come on, let's both get into nicer clothes for our passport pictures."

ooOoo

Two duffel bags full of clothes? Check.

Assorted dog toys and things for Toby? Check.

Favorite book bag stuffed with her absolute favorite books, Kindle, and notebook for ideas? Check.

Unseen stalker? Unfortunately, check.

Yuki searched every corner of her room to find at least a camera, but nothing turned up. She gave a glare at the ceiling, breathing heavily with frustration. _'It can't be my imagination. Not for this long, even if the one in question respects when I need_ _ **real**_ _privacy.'_

"Sweetie? Did you need help with your luggage?" Haru asked, poking her head into the room with a warm smile.

Yuki forced herself to smile innocently at her favorite person. "Would you mind? I think I packed too much."

"No, this looks about right," her mother noted, heaving both of the clothing bags onto her shoulders with deceptive ease. "Can you handle the rest? I want to leave soon."

"I should be fine, Mom. Do you think we'll be able to get to the airport in time?" she asked, pulling her white hair into a hairnet before professionally slipping the black wig over her head again.

"We're intentionally leaving two days early for a cushion in case something happens on the road. It shouldn't, but you really can't tell in advance. Boy am I glad we aren't doing another long trek in winter," she muttered under her breath while leaving the room. The long strands of her black wig flowed around her back like a waterfall, but it was nowhere near as pretty as her mother's real hair in the girl's opinion. Hair which happened to be hiding underneath Haru's shirt and tied around the waist to keep anyone from seeing it.

Yuki gave another glare as she managed to heave her book bag onto one hip she barely had and gripped Toby's bag with the other hand. "Whoever you are, whatever you want," she hissed, finally addressing the unknown stalker. "Leave us alone."

With that, she tried to march out of her room, but caught a terrible sense of foreboding once she was outside of it. She turned around with surprise, but nothing about her room had changed.

So why couldn't she stop staring? Why did it feel like she wasn't going to come back here?

"Sweetheart? Is everything all right?" her mother asked, making the girl jump in surprise.

"Mom! How did you get back here so fast?"

That brown eyebrow cocked at her worriedly. "You were frozen there. Just staring into your room. Do you not want to go?"

Yuki looked down in shame. "I'm scared. What if something happens?" _'What if there's a reason someone almost never stops staring at me or you?'_

Haru's eyes saddened, making her kneel in front of her daughter, although the action now made her shorter than her steadily-growing child. "Yuki. Do you trust me?"

Yuki was able to manage a loving scoff. "You know I do."

"Then believe me when I say I will keep you safe no matter what. You're everything to me." She pressed a gentle kiss to her girl's forehead. "Everything will be just fine, my little lady."

Yuki smiled, instantly feeling more relaxed than before they received the invitation. "Okay. Let's hit the road."

"That's my girl," the disguised brunette crooned, taking the two extra bags from her daughter and running down the hall with them with a wicked smile.

"Hey, I could have carried those!" Yuki yelled before giving chase.

"Then don't be such a slow poke!" her mother laughed, loading the bags into the back of the car by the time the girl reached the front door and locked it.

Merely rolling her eyes, she rescued her book bag from the fathoms of the back seat. "I'll need that to keep me entertained on the road, Mom."

"There you go. Toby's waiting in the car," she reported while closing the back door.

Yuki made herself comfortable in the middle seat of the suburban so that she could snuggle with Toby on the way there while her mother locked up the house.

There was that feeling again. The stalker had never stopped watching them, but it was now coupled with that terrible sensation that she wouldn't be coming back here.

She shook her head with a growl. "Stop being a baby. I'll be back in a few months."

Her mother slid into the car and spared her daughter a loving glance. "Buckled up?"

"Check."

"Sufficient blankets?"

"Check."

"Snacks?"

"Double check," she reported, looking at the plain cardboard box and small cooler occupying the middle seat with her and Toby.

"All right. The forecast is sunny, the day is barely begun, and I'm in the mood for some fun music to help keep me awake!" she cheered, starting the car and setting her music player to a favorite playlist.

Both of them grinned at the first song that came on, smooth but energetic as Haru pulled away from their home and started down the dirt road.

" _Listen, baby,_ " Haru crooned, pressing a button to make their outer gate open before them and close after them. The sun wasn't up yet, but it was slowly correcting that.

" _Ain't no mountain high,_ "

" _Ain't no valley low,_ "

" _Aint no river wide enough, baby!_ "

Yuki grinned, unable to resist such an obvious opening before singing along.

" _If you need me, call me,_ "

" _No matter where you are,_ "

" _No matter how far._ "

Thank heaven her mother was an amazing music teacher! She actually sounded decent now!

" _Don't worry, baby!_ " her mother reminded her with an aside grin before Yuki took back the lyrics.

" _Just call my name,_ "

" _I'll be there in a hurry,_ "

" _Don't have to worry,_ " Yuki assured her back, _loving_ every minute that was just her, Mom, and Toby, who was softly howling in tune with the two of them, as per usual when music was involved.

Really, could life get _any_ better than this?

ooOoo

Several hours later, Yuki was awoken from her nap with a violent thrash, aware of only the screech of tires and her dog being thrown off her lap with a surprised yelp.

Haru was dead silent, swiftly manipulating the car in such a way that it was able to rest on the side of the road with barely more than a few groans from the car and wildly honking traffic as they sped past the suburban.

"… Okay! That was interesting," her mother managed to say, turning her eyes to the middle seat. "Everyone okay back there?"

"Toby?" Yuki pled as her heart raced out of control, but the dog was able to hop back onto her lap without more than a whine of displeasure. "I think we're okay. What happened?"

"Two of our tires blew. Brand new ones!" her mother added with annoyance while turning off the car and undoing her safety belt. "That's the last time I trust _that_ chain store! Wait here, I'll see how bad the damage is," she ordered before stepping outside the vehicle, sliding her shades on for good measure.

As soon as she did, Yuki realized that the one watching them was now focusing on her mother as she inspected all sides of the car. Her unusual blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

' _Mess with my mother, and I'll put all my magic practice with the bookshelves to good use!'_ The element of surprise should be on her side. She hadn't practiced since before that 'being watched' feeling came.

Looking thoroughly annoyed, Haru pulled out her phone and started pressing buttons before speaking into it. Yuki had to strain her ears since her mother was trying to keep it quiet.

"… Yes, two of my tires blew on Interstate 80, just south of Havatt. How soon can you send someone? Wow, that was better than I was expecting. One of the back tires blew, should I… you sure? All right, thank you very much, sir." Clicking off her phone, she opened the middle seat with a thoughtful expression. "A tow truck is on its way, but it'll be half an hour. Toby, if you need a bathroom break, now's the time."

The basset wasted no time scurrying out of the car and go sniffing around the scanty roadside foliage to do his business. He had been well trained to never even _think_ of having an accident in the car.

Haru pointedly kept her face inside the car to give a wry smile to her daughter. _"This_ is why it's a good idea to have elbow room time for traveling, Sweetness. Did you want to stretch your legs for a bit?"

"Not a bad idea," Yuki agreed, unfastening her seat belt.

"You know, even twenty years ago this would have been a bigger setback," the brunette reminisced after her daughter joined her side. "One time my car broke down, and I had to walk a good three miles just to find someone willing to lend me their phone."

"Were your batteries dead?" Yuki asked, watching the clouds pass overhead.

"Cell phones weren't that common back then, Snow Angel. And even when I eventually got one for my car, it was as big as a brick and just about as thrilling to use."

"Thank heaven for improved technology," the girl muttered under her breath, gripping her mother's hand.

"Especially when it works," Haru agreed in a heartbeat, tightening her own grip on that little hand.

Someone was still watching, but Yuki had no way of knowing if they were behind the new tires blowing out.

ooOoo

About an hour after the slimy (at least in Yuki's opinion) tow truck driver arrived and managed to switch the back tire so he could start towing the suburban, Haru's cell phone started blasting out Skillet in a demand for attention.

That was odd. Hardly anyone ever called her mother.

Yuki looked up from her Kindle as Haru checked the caller ID.

Blinking in surprise, the brunette set down her bright pink knitting to answer the call. "Hey, Bruce!"

"Haru, whatever you do, don't leave your house," the billionaire insisted, Yuki picking up his voice without a problem.

The brunette blinked, since he almost never tried to give her an order. "It's a little late for that, I'm kind of attached to a tow truck right now. Is something wrong?"

"Prince Albert is-"

The line went dead before her godfather could say any more.

"Bruce? Bruce?! There's no reason why… oh, peanut butter!" Haru yelled at the top of her lungs with a horrified expression, banging her head once against the steering wheel on purpose. "Stupid! Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! Why didn't I double-check with Bruce in the beginning? I _knew_ he had enough connections to look at this for me, under wraps or not!"

"Mom? What's going on?" Yuki asked, leaning up with difficulty to brush her fingertips against the side of her mother's soft blue coat.

She let out a groan of frustration before answering. "Honey, I've got bad news, a little good news, and even worse news."

The white-haired girl's heart seemed to freeze in her chest. "What's happened? Uncle Bruce didn't get to say anything."

It was just too much of a mouthful to call him anything else.

Haru turned to give her daughter a dead serious look. "He said enough. Sweetheart… we're not going to Prince Albert's wedding. I'm betting he isn't engaged at all. Tim must have only told Bruce recently where we were going for him to try to warn us now."

Yuki stared at her in surprise. "But… _Felicia_ said Prince Albert was engaged! Why would she lie?"

Haru crossed her arms with a scowl, staring up into the sky thanks to the tilted car. "Unfortunately, I know who bribed or possibly blackmailed her into it, and that's the end of the good news. There's only _one_ person I know that would go through the trouble of manipulating me out of the Refuge, making sure I renew our passports, and would have someone on his payroll to tap my calls and cut off Bruce from trying to warn me that something was wrong. Anyone else either wouldn't have bothered with the passports and phone or arranged for our traffic accident to be fatal."

Yuki only _wished_ that she didn't know who her mother was talking about. "Not _that_ slime bag!" she begged while trying not to retch.

Her mother's stern expression became grimmer. "Unfortunately, yes. _That_ slime bag."

The child slumped down as far as her seat belt would let her, giving her dog the chance to lick her face obliviously. "That is _definitely_ even worse news."

"I know. My hands just healed up after the last kill!"

xxXxx

A/N: Feel free to consider 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' Haru and Yuki's theme song for this fic. I have no idea who it originally belonged to, but I have yet to hear a lousy rendition of this song.


	12. War!

A/N: So I forgot to include in my last chapter that I am now on wattpad. I would like to offer my apologies to the one who previously asked me if I'd be interested in posting there, it just finally felt like the right time to do it. Only Refuge and World Order are posted, but if anyone would like me to post a specific story there, let me know.

Also, myvividreams on Tumblr has been doing some very drool-worthy artwork of my stories!

myvividreams. /post/ 172529112409/ haru-and-baron-in-yarning chicks-tcr-fic-to- know

myvivid reams post/ 172590769964/er-so -im-on-a-roll-now -ft-chapter- 9-of

If you copy, paste, and remove the spaces on the above links, you won't regret it!

 **Chapter Twelve: War!**

 _Of course you realize this means_ _ **war**_ _!_

 _-Bugs Bunny_

 **xxXxx**

" _One, two, three and one, two three. You're doing great, Yuki!" a fifteen-year old boy encouraged as his new honorary cousin did another cartwheel across a beam._

" _This is fun, Tim! What else are you going to teach me?" the five-year old asked happily, beaming at the first teenage boy to treat her with kindness._

" _Hey, take it easy, Princess. Aunt Haru will have my head if she thinks I'm pushing you too hard," he warned, catching the girl effortlessly when she hopped off the beam._

" _No, this is playing! A few more tricks, please?" she begged, hugging him around the neck._

 _Tim laughed, setting the girl down so he could hop onto the beam himself. "No wonder Haru gave up stardom for you! Heck, no wonder she cleaned out her_ _ **sewing room**_ _for you! That must have taken months!"_

" _Three," Yuki had no problem confirming with a shrug. "I kept trying to tell her Dick's room would be easier, but she's still hoping he'll come back."_

 _Tim's smile slipped off his face, and the stance he had taken slumped over. "Yeah. Too bad it will never happen."_

 _Yuki cocked her head at him, and bit her lip before asking a question. "Do you talk to him? Does he still think-"_

" _No. I mean, yes, I occasionally see him. Bruce managed to beat it into his head years ago that Haru had nothing to do with their disagreement."_

 _The pale-haired child gaped in surprise. "But… if he knows the truth, why won't he apologize or come visit? Does he really hate her now?"_

 _Tim slid down the beam until he was sitting on it. "You kidding? I watched him break some punk's jaw last month for saying-" he cut himself off while fighting back a nervous look at the little girl. "...something that I would never repeat about Aunt Haru. Well, I think he could stand to at least apologize for shutting her out for years, but… he's having a problem that he thinks can only be fixed if he stays away from her. He was trying to convince_ _ **me**_ _to stop spending my summers here so that I don't come down with the same problem before you came along."_

 _Yuki couldn't understand a bit of this. "What problem? Being around Mom gets rid of problems!"_

" _Not that one, it won't," Tim muttered, looking away from his cousin. "Let's just… Princess, I swore not to tell your mom about this, so if I tell you, you can't tell her!"_

 _The blue-eyed girl cocked her head again in confusion. "What reason could be good enough to avoid Mom like the plague?"_

" _Promise first," her cousin insisted._

 _Yuki pouted, but had to relent. "Fine. I'll play dumb whenever Mom brings Dick up. What's the problem?"_

 _The black-haired youth took a long breath, finally getting off the beam in order to look Yuki in the eye. "See, there was this guy that Aunt Haru used to spend_ _ **a lot**_ _of time with, though I never understood why other than how they met. This guy was a manipulative, controlling rat that did everything in his power to force Haru to act like a Disney princess twenty-four/seven. Not even one of the cooler princesses; one of the classic ones that sing to woodland creatures, look good in a ball gown, and wait for some prince on a horse to come to the rescue."_

 _Yuki gave out a full laugh at the idea as they sat together on the ground for a short break. "She… Mom could handle the first two parts, but not that last one without getting bored and taking care of things herself!"_

 _Tim tried unsuccessfully to hold back a few chuckles of his own, wrapping an arm around her affectionately. "Yep, you know Aunt Haru all right. Just between us, I always thought she had more in common with my favorite cartoon character. She was always more flattered by the one I compared her to."_

 _The younger child blinked her large blue eyes, since she was still having trouble watching tv without headaches. "Who did you have in mind?"_

xxXxx

Haru started growling while holding the sides of her head in thought. "All right, Yuki; there's no way in heck that Drac would go through this kind of trouble unless he has a speech planned to diffuse my temper before I can strangle the creep. Whatever you do, stay close to me and don't take anything from anybody when the hired hand out there takes us to his master."

"Don't have to tell _me_ twice," Yuki muttered before a wicked smile crossed her face. "Excuse me, Toby," she soothed her dog while rooting through the cooler.

"Also, don't talk to him or use any of the adjectives that I've used for him. He has a breath-taking temper when roused, and I stand a better chance of fighting him than you do," her mother instructed with a rare firmness in her tone.

"Like I'd have anything to say to him. Mom, I know you have more practice with insulting people than I do, but could you use this?" Yuki held up one of the bags of vegetables from the cooler, since she still didn't have a sweet tooth.

Haru spared a glance at the vegetable bag, a slow smile overtaking her face from the implication. "I love you. Have I said that lately?" she asked while taking the bag and setting it inside her purse, since the suburban was still tilted from the tow truck.

"I think it's been two hours. Hey, can I take off the wig, since Drac and whoever's with him already know about us?" The shades had seemed pointless since no one was likely to be straining to see her eyes while driving past them. _'I wonder if Drac's the one that's been watching us.'_

Haru looked around, taking off her own wig before resuming her knitting. Her long braid of hair was hiding beneath her shirt, tied around the waist again to keep anyone from guessing she had brown locks instead of black. "We're off the main road now, so feel free. If I had paid more attention to how the driver up there had done to pull our car up, I would just sneak up there and knock him out before getting us to a safe point."

Yuki pulled off her own wig and hairnet to slip them into their special bag. "If the snake's as smart as you say, he'll have a back-up plan for that."

"Yep, sounds like Drac. I wonder what stupidity he's going to try to drag me into _this_ time," she griped with fake enthusiasm.

Maybe the one watching them had a clue?

ooOoo

If they hadn't figured out beforehand that something was fishy, the ridiculously large tent set up in the middle of a grassy field would have been enough to clue them in as the tow truck slowly approached. It was as if someone was throwing a party all the way out here, an idea only solidified by the number of men standing at attention just outside the shaded area.

Only three of all the people stood out, large in stature and fairly close to each other. The first one that caught her attention made her stare in shock.

He was on the left, huge in every respect and dressed plainly with a slightly messy mop of medium brown hair crowning his head. She couldn't tell his eye color from this far away, but she couldn't help but think that this is what her Muta would look like if he were human. Too bad she had left the toy behind.

The dirty blonde woman on the right was wearing a lavender business suit, unfortunately familiar from more than one photo of her mother's.

The other large man in the middle wasn't half as pleasant to look at as his companions. He was dressed very finely in comparison, but Yuki couldn't bother thinking about who wore top hats these days without being in a movie with her mom. It was more interesting to study that strangely slim waist and legs when compared to the large chest. Even stranger to see that his hands were surprisingly small like the lower half of his body even though his arms were huge as well. He had large eyes, nose, and a smirk that was almost too big for his face as the tow truck slowed to a halt in a way that their car was almost in front of him.

' _Thank you, Mom, for giving him the boot!'_ "That picture you showed me is still current," Yuki stated outright as their suburban was slowly lowered to the ground, two of the smaller men coming forward to open the doors for the girls.

"Yes, but I'm the one in charge of insulting him, remember?" she asked as they unbuckled their seatbelts.

However, Toby started growling as the door opened, giving him a good look at Drac. Baring his teeth in hostility, he jumped out of the car in one bound and leapt for the man, who had just enough time to lose that smug expression.

Haru managed to leap forward to snatch the dog right out of the air in front of the well-dressed man, who had immediately taken two steps back as the woman protectively stood in front of him.

The one that looked like Muta just stepped back with a nervous expression as the basset hound started barking savagely and wiggling about in an attempt to get free so that he could start mauling.

Haru gripped him firmly by the waist, not allowing him to wiggle free. "Toby! Toby, heel! Yuki, grab the leash and a-"

"Chew toy," her daughter finished, grabbing the items from Toby's bag and hopping out of the car to clip the leash onto her dog's collar and making the rubber bone squeak close to one of his ears in an attempt to distract him.

"Alright, Toby, listen carefully," her mother continued, briefly making him look over at Drac, who was regaining his composure. " _That_ is my chew toy, and _this_ is yours." She pointed him towards the rubber bone, but he was still growling at the man.

"Toby, be nice," Yuki scolded, taking the dog from her mother so she could rock him like a baby. "No biting unless I say so."

He gave her a disappointed whine, but licked her chin in compliance before taking the offered chew toy between his teeth and being set on the ground. But he didn't stop glaring at the well-dressed man as he gnawed on the rubber bone.

"Good boy," Haru approved, scratching his floppy brown ear before glaring at that third man, standing as she did so. "Which is more than I can say for _some_ people who walk right through restraining orders."

"Ah, charming as ever, Haru," Drac cooed in a British accent. "I was almost worried that motherhood had softened your edge."

Glaring at him defiantly, the brunette retrieved the vegetable bag from her purse, and began somewhat noisily chewing on the contents.

The middle-aged man gave her an annoyed look. "If you are hungry, I have more palatable delicacies prepared," he offered, side-stepping and using one arm to invite her into the giant tent. "I remembered all your old favorites."

Haru gave him a blank look, but kept noisily eating the vegetables and waiting for him to catch on. But it wasn't until Yuki started stifling some giggles that his yellow-shot eyes widened in realization.

"Oh, you _must_ be joking! You're too old for this kind of nonsense, Haru!"

She cocked an eyebrow at him, swallowed her mouthful… and got right back to eating the vegetables in a silly fashion that was more than familiar.

"Enough, stop with the carrots!" he yelled at her, reaching out to grab the bag, but she held it away and slapped his slim gloved hand sharply enough to make him shake it in pain.

But she still didn't speak. She only chewed on her baby carrots in a manner and sound that slowly made more than one of the henchman present start trying to cover up their guffaws.

The only one unaffected by the gag was the Muta impersonator, who was looking around with both surprise and irritation. "Oh for halibut's sake, what is wrong with all of you?! She's not doing anything but eating carrots like a rabbit!" he yelled in an accent that almost seemed British, but wasn't exactly British.

 _Everyone_ lost it at that statement, at least half the men falling to the ground and laughing uncontrollably. Even the suited woman was no match for that hilarious statement. Haru's lips couldn't help but curve into a smile as she kept chewing.

"Stop helping her, Renaldo!" Drac barked at him in red-faced fury.

"Helping her with what? She's clearly eating them without assistance!" the large man pointed out while gesturing at the smirking brunette.

The laughter doubled until the only ones standing were Renaldo, Drac, and Haru.

Even Yuki was kneeling on the fresh grass to keep Toby distracted, laughing just as hard as any of the adults. _'I think I like Renaldo!'_

"Just stop talking!" Drac snapped at the strange hireling before turning his glare toward the woman still chewing away. "You can't keep this up forever, Haru. You're running out of baby carrots."

"No we're not. There's three more bags of them in the car," Yuki replied sweetly, making him give the child a death glare as the laughter increased again. _'That look would be a lot more intimidating if my mother wasn't here and I didn't have magic.'_

By now even Toby's breathing around the rubber bone was sounding suspiciously like dry laughter.

Haru pointedly moved in front of her daughter with a warning glare. He briefly met that gaze, but took a step back in compliance.

She swallowed her mouthful of carrot and allowed the laughter to gradually die down before speaking. "If I don't like the reason you went this far to see me again, my daughter, dog and I _are_ leaving after I fix the other tire, and you won't give us any trouble. Am I clear?" she asked with all the sternness of a seasoned parent.

He tried and failed to make an innocent expression. "What? Can't I merely wish to see an old… _friend_ without having an ulterior motive? It _has_ been twelve years, after all."

"Where _you're_ concerned, Drac, there's always an ulterior motive. Spit out whatever it is you want so that everyone present can move on with their lives."

He drew himself up to his full height proudly, a good three heads taller than the brunette woman before him. "Well, _perhaps_ I might have written a script for a movie that is tailor-made for you. I think you'll find it quite to your liking."

Haru gave him a blank look and some forced laughter after a long awkward moment. "You've actually grown more delusional. I didn't think that was possible."

He clasped his hands together as if interpreting her reaction as excitement. "Oh, you'll love this role; it took me a good three months to make it perfect! Come sit inside and I'll show you-"

"Drop dead, Drac," Haru stated in a chilling monotone.

He blinked at the bluntness. "Excuse me?"

"I am happily retired, in case Felicia forgot to mention it- by the way, you're fired," she coldly informed the lavender-suited woman as she stood up and straightened her skirt and jacket a little breathlessly.

At least there was a bit of guilt in her expression. "Yeah, I was expecting that."

Haru gave her a disappointed glare before continuing to address Drac. ", and you are the _last_ person on earth I would come out of retirement for. You are a manipulative control freak, and I do my best work when I have elbow room. Regardless of how well we both know I _could_ do it, we would spend the entire time of production screaming at each other over just about everything, and I'm done fighting with you. Besides, I wouldn't trust any minion of yours to look after my daughter unsupervised for hours or months on end, and-"

"That's why I'm here," Renaldo interjected, ignoring a 'be quiet' glare from the man in charge as the brunette's eyes flickered to him in surprise. "I don't work for this one; my master is a baron."

Haru slapped herself on the forehead with a groan. "A baron? Really? You got a **baron** involved in making a movie?" she snapped at her old acquaintance.

"Not just any baron. _This_ Baron," Drac smirked, pulling a small photo out of his jacket pocket and holding it in front of her face.

Haru's eyes widened as her mouth fell open in shock as her hand came down. There was a slight bit of color on her cheeks as she stared solely at the photo.

Curious as to what could strike her mother speechless, Yuki got back to her feet and walked around in order to sneak a look at the photo; keeping Toby's leash in one hand just in case. Her breath immediately caught in her throat.

It wasn't just the Baron that her mother had multiple dolls and a portrait of. He was _an actual cat_! Nothing was going to be able to convince the girl that those large green eyes and long whiskers were anything less than genuine. The only difference she could spot was that he was sporting a dark grey suit instead of a light grey one.

True, he looked thoroughly annoyed at having his picture taken, but who was to say he wasn't pleasant the rest of the time?

Her own blue eyes turned to Renaldo, whose attention was fixed solely on her. There was a soft expression as he looked at her as if nothing else existed. Haru was still distracted with the photo, so the child took the chance to inch her way closer to the large man and subtly find his scent through the other men's.

Out of the company, Renaldo was the only one that didn't smell human. He was also the only one that didn't look confused at her sniffing, even if he was less than enthused when Toby followed her example, sniffing at one pant leg experimentally. Stepping back from the basset, he locked eyes with the girl, answering the silent question with only a subtle nod.

Whatever Baron and Renaldo were… it was the same as herself! At least Renaldo for sure, though on closer inspection his black eyes were normal enough to pass for human. So why were her eyes so unusual?

That 'being watched' feeling was still going strong, quite different from being in the crowd of people. Could it have been _Baron_ watching them?

Yuki's heart skipped hopefully in her chest. If Haru had been wrong about Baron existing, what else was she going to be proven wrong about?

Her mom had to meet this baron. _She_ had to meet this baron! Maybe he knew her birth parents! Or even give her some help with her magic!

"He looks cool," the white-haired girl managed to say, making her mother nod dumbly.

"… People might come for me, but they'd stay for _him_! He's even more convincing than the baron we used in the Ties saga!"

"I rather thought you would find him impressive," Drac gloated, tucking the photo back into his jacket pocket. "As Renaldo and yourself have mentioned, our past history has crippled you from trusting one of _my_ people to look after your daughter, so Baron offered one of his own people for the job. I have been assured that Renaldo will be able to protect her just as well as look after her, and Baron has offered the use of his own library so that Yuki's education won't have to come to a halt just because you're working in a remote location. You really couldn't ask for better accommodations for her."

Haru thought carefully over it, her eyes occasionally darting to the coat pocket containing Baron's picture.

The black-haired man noticed the direction of her gaze, because he didn't say anything more to try to sway her. Instead, he just gave that smirk that made Yuki want to let Toby chew the creep into itty bitty pieces.

"… If I like Renaldo's answers, I'll look at your script, and tell your men to stop messing with our luggage!" she snapped, glaring at the henchman that had snuck around them to start unloading the suburban into a limo Yuki hadn't noticed before.

Drac rolled his eyes, but gave a nod at his men to make them stop short of handling Yuki's duffel bag. "You might as well show her now, Renaldo. It'll save you at least one question about your competence as a body guard."

Haru quirked an eyebrow, but the Muta-impersonator was already moving forward, shooing the men away before taking a firm grip with one hand on the rear bumper. Keeping his gaze on the little girl, he started walking backward and forcing the suburban to come along for the ride.

Both Yuki and Haru's eyes went wide with shock, even when he managed to accidentally rip the bumper completely off the car after ten feet.

One half-step kept him from stumbling, perhaps saying that this wasn't the first time he had moved a parked car. "Oops. Do you think you'll need this?" he asked with a show-off grin, waving the huge piece of twisted metal as if it were a stick.

"… Leave it on the car, we'll worry about it later. Dang, too bad we didn't know this guy two years ago," Haru mentioned to Yuki, gesturing for her and the dog to follow her towards Renaldo.

"No kidding. That dead trunk would have been gone much sooner," her daughter answered, Toby, walking obediently next to her, though he was gripping the rubber bone with his teeth and taking a few occasional glares behind him as if to warn the man in charge not to come near his owners.

"Please head that way so I can at least _pretend_ Drac isn't going to eavesdrop," her mother asked in a tired tone, making the almost giant shrug and start walking.

"I doubt he'll bother. He already asked me a bunch of questions that he was sure you'd ask when Baron first recommended me. He seemed to think that you'd like what I have to say."

"We'll see." Haru managed to lock eyes with her only child, subtly tilting her head towards the would-be babysitter as he walked in front of them.

Yuki gave a nod that was just as subtle. Her mother might not know about _all_ the girl could do, but there was one power she _did_ know about. She could feel the hateful glare from Drac now that her mom's attention was diverted, but didn't worry about it.

Only a suicidal moron would try to attack her in front of her mother.

"Is this far enough? I doubt they'll be able to read lips from here," Renaldo asked, trying to cover up an unprofessional whine.

"You'd be surprised, but please keep your back to the others. So, Renaldo, what do you normally do to be that strong?" the brunette asked pleasantly, keeping her own back to the camp as if they were just admiring the distant trees as Yuki played with Toby in front of them.

"I work on my family farm, occasionally at a stone quarry during the quiet seasons. I sometimes serve as Baron's valet for tournaments and travels as he needs me, and engage in wrestling matches for fun."

"What kind of tournaments?" the child asked before her mother could.

"Meh, jousting, archery, swordplay; that kind of thing. Very few can match him."

Haru's face nearly split in half from the grin. "I like him already. Do you have any experience with children?"

"I'm number three of nine children, three of them little sisters," he stated as bluntly as possible. "I'm pretty sure I can handle watching only one little girl."

"Were you told about my daughter's allergies?"

"I know enough to know they won't interfere with what and how I usually cook." He leaned back slightly and patted his impressive belly. "This should be all the confirmation I need about the quality of my cooking."

Haru couldn't fight back a giggle at his choice of words.

Yuki kept silently listening as she made Toby roll over repeatedly for a belly rub. _'The watcher is still there. Is it Baron or someone else? Why wouldn't Baron come if Drac knew a giant cat would impress Mom into saying yes?'_

Haru forced away the remainder of her giggles for the next question. "What do you consider an appropriate response if someone threatens my daughter?"

"I bash his head in," Renaldo answered without needing to think.

"Insults her?" she pressed.

"I bash his head in."

"Someone questionable approaches her?"

"Growl menacingly, and _then_ bash his head in if he doesn't back off."

"That's not very creative," Yuki pointed out while trying not to crack a smile.

Renaldo gave her a grin and a wink. "I'm not here to be creative, little lady. I'm here to keep you safe and happy. So? Any other questions?"

Haru tapped her fingers against the sleeve of her long blue coat, staring out in front of her with a darkly thoughtful expression. "I'm certain I'm forgetting something. Oh, right. Would you consider your master and Drac friends?"

"No. He and all under his care would have been happier if their paths had never crossed," the large man stated as firmly as possible, his small eyes turning narrow with hate as he tried not to turn and glare at the rat in question.

"Guess we have something in common, then," the brunette woman muttered under her breath, still thinking carefully. "If you were given orders by your baron to do something awful to Yuki-" she tried to ask, but he didn't let her finish the question.

"I would immediately know that the orders are not really from him and would disobey in a heartbeat. He's used to me disobeying him if I think he needs it. That's partially why he picked me for looking after the little lady. I grew up with him and know him well enough to know if it's really his order or not."

Her mother took in a deep breath. "Why is your baron so interested in my Yuki's safety, health, and education? I'm pretty sure I heard something about access to his library for her."

The girl in question looked up, not being able to disguise her interest in the answer.

A small smile managed to escape the big man's control. "Baron has a soft spot for children, though he doesn't always show it. If there was no helping a child being around Drac for months on end, he wanted to at least make sure that the child in question would be properly taken care of. Yuki will be more than fine under my charge, and it's not costing you anything."

Haru locked eyes with her daughter who only smiled as she scratched the basset hound's exposed belly.

Not a single headache.

"I think I'll be safe with him, Mom. Besides, he's not exactly the one that Toby hated on sight," she pointed out, trying to sound casual.

Her mother understood the double message. "Yeah, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble if I had paid attention to the fact that none of my pets liked Drac. Except maybe Goldie, I think she was indifferent," she corrected herself before shaking her head back to the important discussion.

"Look, Muta-"

"Renaldo," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Drac warned me about that."

"Sorry, Renaldo." She gave a heavy, exasperated sigh. "Look, it isn't you and it isn't your master. It's the little fact that I unfortunately know the slime bag that's trying to set this up, and I didn't want to raise Yuki on a movie set or let someone else raise her for me. That's why I retired after adopting her, being a mom is so much better than acting!"

Yuki glowed at her unapologetic honesty.

"You know Drac's not going to let you leave in peace," Renaldo tried to tell the older woman gently. "He has things set up so that you can start rehearsals as soon as we get back to the castle and make sure your costumes fit right."

"Baron's castle?" Haru asked, but he shook his head.

"No, one that headache behind us bought for making the movie. But I moved some of Baron's books in there for Yuki. Even if she's only half the bookworm I was told about, she'll have enough material to keep her busy for months."

Haru growled under her breath, turning just enough to see that the men were disobediently finishing up placing the suburban's contents into the back of the limo. "He's always taken my responses for granted." She tapped her thumb against her coat sleeve again, clearly trying to think of a way out of the job offer.

Although the white-haired child didn't want her mom anywhere near Drac… she _had_ to meet Baron! "When we thought we were going to Prince Albert's wedding, you were excited that I'd get to experience a different culture," Yuki pointed out with a nervous smile. "I bet Renaldo wouldn't mind telling me about his."

"You expected me not to?" he asked with surprise.

"I was already considering that, Sweetheart. Dang it, why did it have to be Drac?! He's the only reason I'm hesitating!" she openly lamented. "Getting me to recite lines he wrote isn't exactly a new ploy!"

"He's also the only reason any of this is happening," Renaldo pointed out, though he was starting to look annoyed as well.

She was close, Yuki could sense it. All her mother needed was one more good reason to sign the contract.

"I know you sometimes worry about my social skills, Mom," Yuki mentioned softly, standing up in order to squeeze her mother's hand. "I don't like the idea of talking to complete strangers, but if I don't learn how to cope with people now, when _am_ I going to learn? You guard me better than a dragon guards his treasure."

Haru's response was fairly predictable. "Yeah, well, you're worth a lot more than a dragon's hoard, Sweet Pea."

But it wasn't hard to see that the fight was over.

Giving a tired growl, Haru poked around her pockets until finding a pen and paper so she could start scribbling something on it. "This is the name, address, and phone number of Yuki's godfather. If something happens to me during the production, can you make sure that my daughter's in good hands? Bruce won't mind paying for her to come back to the States."

Renaldo slipped the paper into his pant pocket without looking at it. "Miss Haru, if for any reason you can't keep raising Yuki, I won't rest until she's with people that care about her as much or more than you do. You have my word."

"I don't think that last part's possible, but… thank you. Don't make me regret skipping the threats on what I'm willing to do if anything happens to my little girl," she warned while waving a finger at his face.

His mouth quirked as if fighting back a smile. "Heaven forbid."

"Be sure that she plays at least one hour a day outside other than walking Toby, because she'll read all day if left to her own devices."

Yuki decided not to argue. _'Mom doesn't need to know I do more with the books than read them. Not yet.'_

"Um, speaking of Toby, is there anything I'll need to do for him?" Renaldo asked, giving the dog a nervous look when he started curiously sniffing a pant leg again.

Haru gave an uncaring shrug. "Maybe helping Yuki with getting him food, but she can handle everything else. He's _her_ pet, after all. Listen, I doubt either of you are that interested in watching me read through a script and iron out other details with Drac, so please feel free to hang out over here. I can **promise** the two of you will have more fun than I will."

"Not a problem; you do some reading and arguing, I'll do the watching," the large 'man' assured her before trying to turn the woman around by the shoulders.

Haru quickly stepped away with a wary expression. "Rule one. I prefer not to be touched without permission."

Renaldo was surprised, but still gave a small smile. "Noted. But the little lady will be more than fine, promise."

Haru gave a longing look at her daughter but sighed in defeat before heading back to a smirking Drac.

Yuki wanted to immediately ask some questions but forced herself to wait until after the creep had 'graciously' invited her favorite person into the giant tent again.

Unlike last time, the 'being watched' feeling didn't leave when her mother did, instead focusing on her and her new… bodyguard? Nanny? Tutor?

" _Finally_! Like a protective dragon is right!" Renaldo snapped, letting the easy smile slide off his face and his posture relax into something more comfortable as soon as Haru was out of sight. "I thought for sure she was going to say yes just at Baron's picture from the way Drac was talking!"

"To be honest, I kind of thought the same thing," Yuki admitted, briefly picking up Toby for an affectionate hug as he snuck in a few good licks to her face. "Mommy has a big soft spot for well-dressed orange cats that happen to be barons."

"So I heard," he muttered under his breath, picking up the child in order to take a good long look at her.

Yuki kept Toby's leash in her own hand, feeling strangely calm about Renaldo holding her. Especially since no one in the little family found anything to complain about in the large 'man'.

It wasn't quite the same way anyone else had looked at her. Most people she had met took a glance and saw someone too different to bother with. Pretty much only her mother and honorary cousin had taken a good long look and liked what they saw without a fuss. Or her honorary Uncle Arthur and Aunt Mera. But this one seemed to be looking even deeper than her mother, actively _trying_ to find something in her.

After a while, Renaldo gave her a gentle smile and embrace. "You look just like your mother when she was this young. Or at least you would if she had been born into this world as well."


	13. Mine

**Chapter Thirteen: Mine**

 _Your mother once promised her love to me. Had she never fled, you'd be_ _ **mine**_ _._

 _-Rotti Largo, 'Repo the Genetic Opera'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Yuki's mouth fell open from the simple compliment. "... You knew my birth mother? What was she like? What about my birth father? What are we? Why are my eyes like this and yours aren't? How did you-"_

 _Renaldo pressed a fat finger to her lips with a gentle smile, shifting her weight into one arm in order to do so. "Take it easy, little lady. The humans and Haru should leave us alone long enough for me to tell you at least the basics."_

 _Yuki cocked an eyebrow at the wording, but decided not to raise a fuss as he carried her closer to the trees, her dog walking beside them since she was still holding his leash._

 _It didn't take her large babysitter long to find a big rock to sit on, keeping the girl on his lap. Toby hopped and curled up on Yuki's lap for a comfortable nap._

 _Renaldo didn't seem thrilled at the dog's position, but decided to move right along. "To start off with, this isn't your world. We're from another dimension where the dominant species are cats and birds, though they are far superior to the ones from this world from what I've seen. You and I are cats."_

' _That makes more sense than it should,' Yuki accepted in a heartbeat. "So how did I end up here? How did you find me?"_

 _Her large bodyguard bit back an indulgent laugh as he patted her on the head. "Just hold your rabbits, there's a lot to tell you first. The reason I know your parents is because I grew up with them as well as Humbert."_

 _The little girl blinked in confusion. "Humbert?"_

" _The baron that Drac waved in front of Haru's nose to make her agree to working with him. He's your second cousin, once removed on your mother's side." Renaldo bit his lower lip nervously. "I don't know how to put this gently, Yuki, but…"_

 _Yuki leaned forward expectantly, her heart pounding strangely hard at the awaiting news._ _It took Renaldo a few more minutes to spit it out._

" _Humbert was almost your father. He_ _ **should**_ _have been your father."_

xxXxx

Yuki was rocking uncertainly in her seat, secretly grateful for the bumps in the dirt road. Just about anything was a welcome distraction from their destination. Sure, she could have tried reading something on her Kindle or one of the books in her bag, but she was just too nervous to focus on the written word for once.

Or the fact that she now knew that the one still keeping an invisible eye on her and her mother was someone that had every right to hate her. From what Muta had told her, that didn't seem like his intention, but… **ugh** , this was going to be an awkward first meeting. Even if he was the only person still living with her blood running through his veins.

"Sweetheart? Is the carriage upsetting your stomach?" her mother asked worriedly while lowering the thick script. "I know it's a weird experience at first."

"I'm okay," she mumbled, forcing herself to look out the curtained window to watch the trees creep by. "Just feeling impatient. How much longer?"

Drac gave a courtesy glance to the forest before returning to speeding through an advanced Sudoku booklet with a lazy attitude. "Another twenty minutes. Baron assured me from our last phone call that both of your rooms are ready for you," he added to Haru with an attempt at a charming smile, trying to hide his pleasure at getting to sit next to her for over an hour in such close quarters.

Thankfully the strangely shaped man wasn't making any moves on her, but Yuki didn't know how much longer it would be until he inevitably did. She was hoping he'd wait until she didn't have to witness it.

Unless she had a puke pail handy.

"How did you get a baron to take care of room service?" her mother asked while returning to the script, her lips set in a disapproving frown.

"He meant he left Baron in charge while we were retrieving you and Yuki," Renaldo stated tightly while putting up with Toby laying across his ample lap.

For some bizarre reason the hound decided it was his favorite place to be, even if part of the reason was so that he could glare at Drac while viciously chewing on the rubber bone again.

"Ah. That makes more sense," the brunette conceded while returning to the script. "Just out of curiosity, for the hydra, are we using a giant puppet or is it just going to be CG?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see when we reach that point in filming," Drac smirked at the brunette, but she still didn't raise her eyes to meet his as she turned a page.

"Fine, keep your secret. But I better not find out that InGen had anything to do with it."

ooOoo

"I see it, Mom!" Yuki cheered as the large castle became visible past a hill and through the trees.

It looked fairly standard to castles she'd seen in movies, but it was still pretty amazing to be this close to one.

Haru finally put the script down in order to look out her window. A small smile lit up her face before glancing at Drac. "You sure this isn't over the top? There are barely any scenes anywhere near a castle."

Drac held a hand to his heart as if he were deeply wounded. "What? I wouldn't dream of making you sleep in anything less than the best. Besides, this location has guaranteed that we have all the privacy we need for filming in the surrounding areas. Except for interviews, of course."

"Of course," she repeated with an eye roll, turning back to the script. "Can't build up hype without interviews or a kick-awesome trailer."

"Precisely!"

As the carriage drew closer to the castle, a familiar scent filled Yuki's nostrils from an unfamiliar source, making her large blue eyes widen with surprise. "Mom? What's that smell?"

Her mother gave a few careful sniffs. "My nose isn't as sharp as yours, Sweet Pea."

"It's salt water, little lady," Renaldo informed her, throwing a guarded look at the brunette. "Haven't you ever taken her to the ocean before?"

Those large brown eyes turned flat and cold. "As a matter of fact, I haven't. You _had_ to pick a castle near open salt water, didn't you?" Haru griped at Drac, who only gave her a smug smile.

"I'm merely making sure that you are as comfortable as possible."

"I'd have been more comfortable with something a bit more inland," Haru informed in a dark tone.

"Too bad it's a little late to relocate," the director replied as he finished up one advanced Sudoku book and fished around his briefcase for a new one.

Renaldo opened his mouth, but Yuki managed to elbow him in his impressive gut before he said anything, shaking her head in warning. He cocked his head at her, but let the inevitable question slide while rubbing where her elbow had gotten him.

' _Though I have the same question. Why_ _ **is**_ _Mom's natural scent like the ocean?'_ But at least the little girl knew better than to ask that in front of other people. That answer could wait until they were alone.

The woman in question was glaring pointedly at the script, ignoring everything else.

' _But I don't want her to be in a bad mood when we meet my blood uncle. Or cousin or however else I'm supposed to think of Baron.'_ Yuki slipped her Kindle back into her book bag and gently nudged the script aside so that she could take over that familiar lap.

Haru was surprised, but didn't question as she wrapped the girl into a loving hug and buried her face into Yuki's thick white hair.

When Drac quickly noticed, he scowled at the child. "Isn't she a little old to sit on laps?" he complained.

"I am thinking of a number," Haru stated with all the sweetness of a veiled threat.

He blanched as his face turned red. "Well, this carriage is a bit small. There's hardly any elbow room on this side if you let her sit on you."

"Also fixable," her mother replied, switching to Yuki's vacated seat next to the babysitter and leaving the heavy script next to the director. "Does this bother you, Renaldo?"

"Not enough to complain about," the large man answered with a shrug, even though the other man was livid.

' _I bet he only picked a carriage this small so that Mom had no choice but to sit close to him.'_ Yuki snuggled a little tighter into her mother's embrace, both to enjoy the familiar warmth and to pass Drac a silent message. _'You already blew your chance. She's mine now, and I'm not sharing.'_

Well, not now in any case. Tim wasn't around. She could feel the power of his glare from behind her, but paid it no mind. As long as she was with her mother, nothing could hurt her.

After a few more minutes, the carriage finally came to a halt outside the castle.

That 'being watched' feeling seemed to ripple, but didn't quite go away.

"Finally!" Drac snapped, first out the door after someone had pulled out the little steps outside.

Renaldo gave Yuki an encouraging smile before somewhat clumsily following the director out of the carriage, turning enough to offer his hand to the child. His other arm was full of Toby as he wriggled a bit in a bid to be put down.

"He'll make sure you don't trip again," Haru whispered, gently easing her off the comfortable spot.

Yuki nodded, grabbing her book bag before slipping out the door, gripping Renaldo's hand as she stepped out of the carriage. Their luggage was already being unloaded from the back, though she didn't worry about that right now.

Baron was the first one she saw. The blue-eyed girl wanted to think that he could have personally posed for that portrait hanging back in her mother's music room, but there were enough little differences in the whiskers and posture to assure her that this cat was different. He was even in a grey suit like all the dolls, though it was a darker shade than anything she had seen on any of the Baron memorabilia her mother owned. She could somewhat feel Renaldo's hand gently guide her away from the carriage, more towards the orange and cream feline.

His large green eyes were locked on her as if they weren't surrounded by other people. His face was guarded, almost cold, but there was a twinge of regret that he was trying to hide.

Yuki didn't know what to say. Apologizing for his humiliation in front of complete strangers wasn't likely to go over well.

Especially with what Renaldo had told her about her uncle's coping methods. When he finally had the enthusiasm for coping methods, that is.

The large babysitter was surprised to feel Haru's hand on his shoulder, balancing herself while stepping out of the carriage as if she didn't see that Drac had a hand out to help her.

The director glowered angrily at the slight, but didn't dare make a scene in front of so many of his workers, at least one of which was holding back a snort of laughter.

Not that Haru could be bothered to notice, since she was looking between her child and the baron, both of which were remaining completely silent. "You could try saying hello, Sweetheart," her mother told her gently, pressing a bit on her back to encourage her daughter to take a step closer to the tall cat.

Her hands started shaking, but she forced herself to take a nervous breath. "H-Hello," she whispered softly, intimidated enough to hide behind her mother after speaking.

"Greetings, Miss Yuki. I trust your journey was pleasant?" the cat man asked cordially, as if he hadn't been keeping an eye on her himself. His accent seemed a bit more polished than Renaldo's; not quite British, definitely not Australian or New Zealand.

But if that was Baron keeping an eye on her until now, what was that rippling feeling? Who was still watching her?

"Um, it was okay," she mumbled, finally taking back Toby from her babysitter and letting him stand on his own, though she was smart enough to keep a hand on his leash.

The basset in question seemed to give a confused 'arf' as he tried to get close enough to smell the new cat, but Yuki made sure he stayed close to her.

Baron gave a courtesy glance to the dog, but didn't seem bothered by the pet as he turned his gaze to Haru. "Don't you find it inappropriate to allow a young lady to dress herself in such attire?" he asked sternly, gesturing with his head at the child.

Yuki blinked in surprise, and looked down at what she was wearing. Come to think of it, Renaldo hadn't been that thrilled by her choice of pink pants and favorite t-shirt that morning, but there hadn't been time for him to make her change clothes. Or was he offended by the sparkly pink tennis shoes?

The brunette blinked as well, but turned to Drac, who looked horrified at such a question. "Method actor?"

"Um, yes. He's a method actor," the director managed to choke out.

Yuki's head immediately throbbed with pain, but it didn't surprise her.

With an indulgent smile, Haru turned back to her future co-star. "I'm not sure what proper protocol is in your dimension, but it's perfectly acceptable in this one for women to dress like my daughter or myself. Just be grateful that everything important is covered."

"I disagree with your assumption, you can practically see her _ankles_!" he persisted, looking even more disapproving than before.

"What's wrong with my ankles?" Yuki couldn't help asking, pulling up a pant leg slightly to study one of them. _'No one's ever complained about my ankles before.'_

"Nothing, Sweetie." Her mother gave a gentle rub to her snow-like hair. "He's just trying to say he prefers females in dresses."

" _Long_ dresses, with boots," Baron made sure to stress, sparing another glare of disapproval for Haru's simple but extremely nice navy business suit, which sported pants and admittedly masculine black shoes. "I'm not impressed with what passes for skirts in this world, and don't get me started on allowing her to show that much arm!"

"All right, I won't," the brunette promised, still smiling and rubbing her daughter's hair as if the tall feline wasn't openly insulting her or her parenting choices. "But if you don't mind, my girl's been restless for the last bit of the trip. I'm pretty sure she'd like to see her room."

"Ah, of course. Both of your rooms are this way. May I escort you, Miss Yuki?" he asked, holding an arm towards the girl, who looked up to her mom in confusion while still somewhat hiding behind the older woman.

"He wants you to put your hand on his arm. It's a very traditional sort of thing," the brunette explained, gently pushing her girl out of hiding and closer to the cat man.

'… _I shouldn't embarrass him. He_ _ **is**_ _family.'_ Feeling incredibly awkward about it, she placed her hand on that forearm and let her uncle lead her into the castle.

"May I escort-" Drac could be heard trying to ask, but cut himself off as Haru's footsteps soon began following the two, as well as Renaldo's. A glance behind them said that they hadn't linked arms as well, though her mother's mischievous grin said that she had been thinking about it.

Yuki tried not to smile at how annoyed the director looked right now while trailing behind them. It became a little easier to keep a straight face when she remembered who was escorting her. _'How many times did he do this with my birth mother?'_ She gripped Toby's leash with her other hand, the basset hound keeping pace with her even though he kept looking at Baron with curiosity.

"What do you think of the castle, Miss Yuki?" Baron asked, leading the four through the main hall and up a long sweeping staircase.

The white-haired ten-year-old snapped out of her thoughts, looking around at the tapestries and obviously newly-installed stained glass windows. "… it's too big," she admitted, looking away in case it angered him. "You could hold a ball in the main hall alone."

"I suppose it would seem so to you. May I inquire as to why you chose to raise her out in the middle of nowhere?" Baron asked while turning enough to give Haru another stern look.

"Because I already had a house out there and I didn't want Yuki to grow up on a movie set. So much for that plan," she muttered under her breath while eyeing the long banister with a child's interest.

But the feline wasn't about to relent. "From how Drac spoke of you, affording another home in a more populated area doesn't sound like it would have been a problem."

Her mother answered that with a casual shrug. "If I wanted one, sure. But since we were in hiding to keep people from figuring out where we live and I at least _occasionally_ want to be outside the house with my own face, it seemed like the best solution."

Baron gave another sniff of disapproval. "Ah, yes. I see how well you have hidden from the world."

Yuki looked up with a frown. Okay, _that_ one was a little rude.

"Yeah, it would have worked a lot better if a 'certain someone' would respect my decisions. So how did _you_ get roped into working with him?" Haru asked curiously while ignoring how angry that 'certain someone' looked right now.

Yuki's hand tightened on her uncle's arm, her insides tying themselves into knots in horror. Renaldo had mentioned that the day they met.

"He made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Baron stated in a way that made it clear that he wasn't going to elaborate as they finally reached the end of the staircase and strolled down a hallway with random paintings hanging on the walls.

The brunette only sighed in agreement. "He's pretty good at those. Makes it all the funnier when he still gets turned down."

Yuki couldn't see Drac's expression by now, but she was certain it was hilarious.

"I'm afraid that wasn't an option. Ah, here is your room, Miss Yuki," he informed the girl, stopping in front of a door and handing her a key from inside his coat jacket. He handed a nearly matching one to the mother, gesturing with his head at the door just further down the hall.

She nodded quietly with a thankful smile, but his attention was already on the smaller female. Feeling a bit nervous as to what he had arranged for her, the blue-eyed child turned the key and let the door slide open.

… Save for the fact that it was a castle room, it was nearly identical to her room at the Refuge save for the flowered wallpaper in place of a mural from her mother. All the bookshelves lining the walls were full of books as promised, but her canopy bed was a lot bigger than the one at home, plus all the furniture was a much older style than she was used to. She leaned down and undid Toby's leash so that he could do some exploring of his own.

He romped around the space, nearly diving under the huge bed and coming out the other end with a doggy smile on his face before barking happily.

Was this how rooms looked in her home dimension? She turned a bit to see that the tall tabby and heavy-set babysitter were still watching her every move, only looking a bit nervous at what her verdict would be. The cat lord didn't even notice when Toby wandered close enough to sniff at one of his pant legs with a confused expression.

The young girl managed to give him an appreciative smile as she set her book bag next to a high back chair near a large window. "Thank you, Baron. It's bigger than what I'm used to, but it's ver-"

" **Baron**! I gave you _specific_ instructions!" Drac bellowed, storming into Yuki's room to take a big fistful of the cat man's white shirt and black vest to lift him off his feet.

Renaldo made to help him, but Baron held up a hand to keep him from interfering. Yuki had to dive for her hound to keep him from pouncing on the director, no matter how much she wanted her mother to share her chew toy. But she couldn't keep him from barking angrily at the man threatening her uncle.

"I said to take care of _both_ of their rooms! Was I not clear enough that Haru is a _lady_ that deserves the best?!" the director roared in indignation.

"Drac, settle!" Haru snapped at him, also marching into the room to grip the needed pressure points on the wrist to force him to let go. "I like the room Baron did just fine!"

"It's identical to when I left!" he snarled as the cat man landed solidly on his feet with barely a change of expression.

Baron sighed, as if getting picked up and yelled at by the director was already old news. "That is an inaccurate assumption. I took the liberty of having it properly cleaned and replacing the linens. By your own admission and schedule, she will not be in the room to use it for much else then rest."

"Which is why I'm completely happy with how it is," Haru finished, putting a slight emphasis on each word while giving the taller man a warning glare.

Mostly to get a still-barking Toby away from the director, the pale-haired child carried her dog out of the room to the one just beyond hers.

The biggest things setting this room apart from her own was a color scheme of soft grey and blue instead of pink and yellow, and that there was only one bookshelf. Other than that, it was a very nice bedroom for a lady. Toby was still agitated, but at least he started quieting down.

"I don't see what he's complaining about," Renaldo muttered, since he had wandered in after her and shut the door behind them. "Any one of my sisters would love to have a room this nice to herself."

Deciding it was safe, Yuki set Toby down so that he could explore this room as well. "Mom once said that Drac doesn't know how to cope with anything less than being treated like a royal. He was probably expecting gold quilts and a large marble fountain with expensive fish, maybe a walk-in closet the size of another room instead of a wardrobe."

Her babysitter slapped his forehead with a groan. "This is going to be a _long_ set of months." Suddenly he froze in surprise. "She _told_ you about Drac?"

"Why wouldn't she?" Yuki asked in confusion. "He _was_ a part of her life for longer than I've been alive."

"Sweet Pea? Oh good, you _did_ just come in here," Haru breathed in relief, slipping past Renaldo near the doorway in order to give her daughter a warm hug. "It's taken care of, Baron's not in trouble."

Yuki could see her large protector flinch, but her mother was facing the wrong direction to take note of it. Toby licked her mother's wrist before whimpering for attention.

The feeling of being watched rippled again; possibly Baron joining whoever it was that had been watching the proceedings?

Those long fingers scratched at her dog's ears for a response. "Drac says we have an hour to rest before I have to go meet the rest of the crew. Muta-"

"Renaldo," he corrected again with a look of disapproval.

She offered him a sheepish smile. "Sorry again. If you'd like to get settled into your room, I doubt Yuki and I are going to go anywhere beyond our rooms for a bit."

He was fighting back a scowl as he nodded, excusing himself from the room before shutting the door.

"I really need to beat it into my head that he isn't Muta," Haru muttered under her breath, making herself comfortable on a couch before her child curled up next to her and their dog curl up next to them.

"Mom, can I brush your hair?" Yuki blurted almost desperately.

The brunette looked down at her with surprise. "But you did my hair just last night. And it's looking like Drac's planning on leaving it loose for shooting, so the braid's coming out soon enough."

" _Please_?" Yuki begged, holding her hands in front of her in a pleading position. "This is all new and strange and kind of scary. I don't know when I'll get to do your hair again."

Haru melted, giving her beloved daughter a kiss on the forehead. "All right, I'll go get a brush-"

"Not if I beat you!" Yuki teased, hopping off the couch and running to the bathroom connected to her mother's room.

Search as she tried, though, the child couldn't find a brush.

"It's out here, Sweetheart," her mother calling, making the girl look around and see her standing next to a small desk with a large mirror.

Haru waved an old-fashioned hairbrush with a smirk. "Back in the old days, grooming supplies were on or in the vanity."

Yuki sighed in defeat as they both returned to the couch to sit back down. "This place almost feels like we've stepped back in time," she noted while accepting the brush.

"It'll feel a lot more so after I step into costume." She turned her back to her daughter as the blue-eyed child sat back down and helped herself to the end of her mother's braid. "From the sound of Drac's schedule, this will be the last day I'll be wearing my regular clothes for a while."

Slipping the elastic band onto one wrist, Yuki began the pleasurably long task of slowly brushing the braid out of her mother's hair until she could braid it back up again. Her mother's brown hair was just so soft and cool to the touch, like handling the lightest of silk. The child could feel no shame in admitting how much of a security blanket handling her mother's hair was.

"I think I got Baron angry with me," Haru said conversationally while rubbing Toby's back when he made himself comfortable on her lap.

"I like my clothes!" Yuki retorted stubbornly.

"No, not that. I don't think he's used to having a stranger speak up for him against a guy I've seen throw servants against a wall for lesser offenses than having different taste in bedrooms. He was a bit surly with me before leaving with Drac, and that was _after_ I thanked him for doing a beautiful job on our rooms."

Yuki shook her head in disgust as she slowly worked her way up the braid. "Seriously, Mom. Why did you waste more than two minutes on Drac? I could tell from his _photo_ that he didn't deserve to be near you."

Although her mother was facing the opposite direction, it wasn't hard to see her expression turn very regretful.

"I guess I'm just a sentimental idiot. Don't let me forget to call Bruce and let him know we've arrived."


	14. No Respect

**Chapter Fourteen: No Respect**

 _No respect! No respect!_

 _-Jabberjaw, 'Jabberjaw' cartoon_

 **xxXxx**

 _A younger Renaldo hesitantly strolled down a long hallway, biting his lower lip from nerves as he strove not to shake the tray in his fat fingers._

 _Benjamin had tried this earlier today, but the lord's favorite breakfast of egg toast had not been enough to make tempt their master into opening the door, or acknowledging anyone's existence._

… _It just wasn't fair. Baron had done_ _ **nothing**_ _to deserve to be treated so shabbily, let alone by one who was family by blood if not by choice. Would it have really been so terrible for Louise to have just admitted to his face that she didn't want to marry him? That surely would have been less embarrassing than waiting until every member of court was gathered for the ceremony before someone had to tell them why it was being canceled._

 _Before long, he was standing outside a tall set of doors that he normally never saw. Although he had grown up with the lord and considered him another brother, that didn't necessarily mean that he was invited into the personal chambers. That morning's breakfast tray was left untouched by the door where the young cook had left it._

 _Taking a deep breath for courage, the huge white feline politely racked his knuckles against the thick oak door. "Humbert? It's me. I brought you my famous nashil sandwiches with grilled carrots and lemonade," he began, trying to sound as coaxing as possible. "I know you prefer that boiled grass soup, but if I tried to make you any of that, you'll just say that I literally used grass." He was silent for a second. "Which I probably would."_

 _Nope. No laughter. Not even harsh breathing, though pressing his large brown ear against the door was enough to assure him that his dear friend was indeed breathing. It was controlled, measured, which meant that Humbert was awake but ignoring him._

 _It broke Renaldo's heart. The young lord was_ _ **never**_ _one to purposefully ignore when someone wished for his attention, let alone his best friend. He could only pray that his friend would be able to shake off this setback soon enough; perhaps after the king's soldiers_ _ **finally**_ _found out where the two runaways had disappeared to so that they could properly be given their due._

" _I'll just leave this outside the door for you," the fat white cat informed his master, gently setting the tray outside the doors within easy reach. But it felt too soon to give up. "You know that if you want to talk or just need me to stand in the corner to be there with you, all you have to do is point a finger, open the door a crack; any sign at all!" he begged almost desperately while taking the untouched breakfast tray and scratching his brown ear out of nerves. "Hilary's been begging for you; who's going to keep her on the right track if you won't?!"_

 _Something blunt and heavy was thrown at the door, hard enough to startle the farmhand out of his begging. Judging from the thud, probably a winter boot since the lord wouldn't toss a book, no matter the pain he was suffering._

"… _You'll be happy again, Humbert," Renaldo finished, wishing he had the ability to scream at the ones who had broken his friend's heart. "But don't forget that the rest of us care about you. There'll be someone even better, you wait and see."_

 _Humbert hurled the other boot at the door for good measure before his large friend left._

 _Not that it stopped him from slowly opening the door and quietly dragging the offered food into the room before anyone saw his ungloved hand._

xxXxx

"Hey!" Yuki protested when Renaldo threw her two luggage bags in a corner. "I need to unpack those!"

"Doubtful. Your wardrobe's already full. Baron was hoping that you would discover that while he was still in here."

The small girl cocked her head in confusion, but slowly opened the furniture in question.

A collection of old-fashioned dresses greeted her, although she couldn't imagine how they could have gotten her sizes. Or had the dresses made this quickly. There were even feminine boots that had to be buttoned instead of tied along one side.

"Who's still watching us?" Yuki had to ask, pulling out a light green dress for closer inspection. "I'm pretty sure it's mostly been Baron since Felicia lied to get us out of our home, but I doubt he can watch me and be near Mom at the same time."

"Not without cluing her in about his authenticity. I bet Hilary is watching," Renaldo casually informed her, making himself comfortable on the couch near the center of the room. He set the basket full of their lunch aside, although he was eyeing it like he wanted to eat now. "She was excited to learn of you, and is the one who made certain you were given the latest styles."

"Hilary?" the white-haired girl asked in confusion, looking away from the dress and toward her babysitter. "You never mentioned her."

He blinked in mild surprise. "I didn't? She'll probably yell at me the first chance she gets then. She's Baron's little sister by… I can never remember if it's by twelve or ten years. Don't worry; I'm sure she'll find a loophole around the spell block to come see you soon enough. She completely worshipped Louise before she ran away with Neal."

Yuki looked down, still not sure on what to think of her parents' actions before her birth. The part of 'eloping to another dimension' sounded pretty romantic.

But it was decidedly less so when they did it the night before her mother was supposed to marry Baron. She couldn't help but feel a little more sympathy for the rejected groom all the times that happened in the movies her mother had shown her over the past five and a half years.

"Relax, Hilary can't wait to be a doting aunt," Renaldo assured her after a moment of nervous silence. "I wouldn't be shocked if she was finishing up your room at the Gikkingen castle as we speak."

"… What about Baron?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"He was hoping to speak to you personally about your powers before today was over-"

Yuki dropped the dress in open mouthed horror.

"-but thanks to Drac, that'll have to wait a bit longer. Speaking of which-"

"How did you know?!" the white-haired girl blurted fearfully. "I've been careful, ever since I felt someone watching us!"

He managed a small laugh with a roguish grin. "Before Haru adopted you, you weren't so careful. All of the 'incidents' Drac mentioned matched up to what happens when a magically gifted kitten is put under stress or fear before learning to control their powers. Not to mention Drac showed us the time you threw Haru against a wall for trying to force you into swimming lessons."

"… _Showed_?!" she choked in horror.

"Yes. Speaking of which, he is very angry that you kept taking out the cameras he tried to keep around your home. Baron's willing to like you just for infuriating that slime bag."

It took Yuki only a few seconds to understand the full implications of where she always found the most dots over the years. "That _creep_! Mom is going to behead him when she finds out that those little dots were spy cameras!"

"How do you think she'll react when she finds out that you've been hiding magical powers from her?" he asked while staring at his hand, flexing it and making a fist. "Or that you hurt her?"

"It was an accident!" she begged for him to understand.

"One that I'm sure made her drop the swimming idea," he finished with a smirk.

"No, I can swim just fine now."

That smirk fell off his face as easily as a curtain.

"I don't enjoy it," Yuki defended herself, finally putting the dress back in the wardrobe. "But at least I don't have to worry about drowning if I fall into a river, and I can bathe myself without going into a panic."

"… She made you… _agree_ to swimming lessons?!" he asked slowly, as if certain that he was misinterpreting her words.

Yuki nodded while closing the wardrobe and walking toward the couch. "Mom stated her case later in a way that made more sense than just saying 'I'm the mom, you do as I say'." She finally sat down on the couch as well, smiling when Toby woke up from his nap in order to jump on her lap. "Still, she deserves to know that Drac's never really left her alone. How can I tell her without him showing that clip in retaliation?" she muttered out loud as Renaldo happily started pulling out strange sandwiches from the basket.

"Meh, don't worry about it. The only way he can spy on her without your interference is with Baron's help, and there are things he doesn't want Baron seeing. Not that Baron would want to see any of that, anyway," he muttered under his breath before handing her one of the thick sandwiches. " _He_ happens to be above peeping on unsuspecting women when not under a blood link to a disgusting pervert."

Yuki only stared at her food, not having much of an appetite as Toby sniffed at the odd sandwich experimentally. Realizing he hadn't been fed in a while, she set her own sandwich back in the basket so that she could open the big case of dog food her mother had bought at the last stop before the castle. "We just wanted to be left alone. Was that too much to ask?"

"As far as Drac is concerned, yes. So… other than hiding your powers and getting forced into swimming lessons, have you been happy with Haru?" the large babysitter asked carefully before taking a large bite of his sandwich.

Yuki finished opening the can of dog food and began expertly scraping it into the food bowl, much to the basset's delight. "The only time I can remember being happy at all is when I'm with her or Toby. She… Mom has a gift for making someone feel like they're worth worlds, even without saying a word."

"At least she has _that_ in her favor," he muttered after swallowing his mouthful. "Nothing would be able to save her from Baron's wrath or mine if she had been hurting you."

The small girl stared at him as she tapped the last of the food into the bowl, grabbing the other bowl to get some water from the attached bathroom. "Why on earth did you say that?"

"Because you're his family-"

Yuki didn't wait to reenter her bedroom, filling the water bowl as she spoke. "No. I meant about Mom. If he's been watching us for over two weeks, shouldn't he have gotten the idea that I am Mom's world? For crying out loud, _you've_ seen us up close for over a week; was there anything to suggest that Mom would even **consider** hurting me?"

"Nothing, thank codfish. That's why I've been cordial to her; despite what Drac said, I'm not sure she would have agreed to be stuck with him for months just to get at Baron if you hadn't been nudging her to say yes to the contract."

Yuki set the water bowl next to the food one before crossing her arms at the babysitter. "So you're putting up with her to get at me."

"More or less, yes."

Her eyes narrowed at the disguised cat man lounging casually over the couch as he answered between mouthfuls. "You know, she wouldn't keep accidentally calling you 'Muta' if she didn't like you, Renaldo. You're not doing yourself any favors by being only 'cordial'."

He finished swallowing. "I am, actually. I've heard what happens when males become too attached to her, and I have zero interest in joining their ranks. Or letting Baron if he started weakening, but I doubt Haru has what it would take to make him take notice." The last part was said with a small laugh in his tone.

Yuki rolled her eyes with an ironic laugh. "Yes, heaven forbid either of you become friends with my mom. She might make you laugh."

"I think we're talking about different kinds of 'friends', Yuki. Maybe we need something else to talk about, like how you're not eating your lunch." He patted the sandwich she set down earlier, but the girl didn't draw closer.

Instead she sat down on the carpet next to her dog as he enjoyed his water, rubbing his little back. "I can wait until dinner."

"Don't be ridiculous. I know for a fact you haven't eaten since early this morning. Come now, no one can resist one of my sandwiches, not even Baron when he's brooding worse than usual," he tried coaxing.

Yuki looked away, feeling more than a bit angry. "Yeah? I bet you didn't spend the time before feeding him insulting _his_ mother."

Renaldo blinked, as if just realizing that would be upsetting for her. He nibbled on his lower lip, trying to think of something. "Yuki… it's not you-"

"You made that clear already. You don't like my mother, despite the fact that she's been nothing but nice to you and is clearly on about as friendly terms with Drac as Baron is." She kept scratching Toby's back, making his cute tail wag back and forth as if on electricity. "Never mind the fact that she did Baron and Hilary the _huge_ favor of keeping me safe and happy until all of you found out that I existed." She gave a pointed glare around the room, since she couldn't tell which direction Hilary was observing them from.

Renaldo's chubby cheeks puffed out in annoyance, but gave a reluctant sigh. "Fine, I'll stop insulting Haru. Now will you come eat?"

"… I guess so," Yuki conceded, letting Toby finish his lunch in peace as she reclaimed her seat on the couch and started delicately nibbling on her sandwich like her mother had taught her. _'Might as well let him and Hilary see Mom didn't raise me to be a barbarian.'_ She couldn't name half of the spices inside the sauce, or the particular type of fish, but had the food inhaled before too long. "Thank you, Renaldo. That was the best sandwich I can remember having."

The fat babysitter tried not to gloat, only now pulling out a pair of pears and handing her one. "You're welcome. You know, I never got the chance to ask; why did you stop me from asking about Haru's scent on the way here?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

Yuki finished her mouthful of _delicious_ fruit before answering. "She's very sensitive about the way she smells. I'm pretty much the only person who can talk about it without her getting into a really bad mood."

"But you didn't know that she smelled like the sea," he pressed, only gripping the pear in his fat palm.

"No. Her scent just means home to me." She kept nibbling on her pear, finding it to be better than any of the ones her mom bought as well. _'I better not tell him, though. He's getting enough of a swelled head.'_

"So, you're not worried at all that the woman that adopted you doesn't smell a thing like a human?" Renaldo stressed, as if trying to make her think about the oddity as he poured her lemonade from a spill-resistant container.

Yuki did think about the overlooked fact, but soon took to sipping the excellent drink. "Neither do you. Neither did my long lost uncle. If I shouldn't get upset over the two of you, why should I get upset over the only person willing to drop everything just to be a good mom?"

Renaldo tried not to groan in frustration.

ooOoo

' _My life has reached a new low, since I took the time to think my predicament couldn't get any worse. As if being forced into servitude by a rat from an uncivilized dimension wasn't bad enough, I was hand-chosen for it specifically to impress a_ _ **fish**_ _!'_

If that weren't bad enough, it was working. She hadn't made an advance yet, but it was only a matter of time judging from the way she had stared at his portrait, or was constantly sneaking side glances at him. His stomach clenched in dread, but inwardly stiffened his resolve.

This temptress would not add him to her collection as she had his new 'employer'.

"Ah, here's where the orchestra will be practicing and recording music for the soundtrack," Drac pointed out, holding open a door for the woman as an orchestra played one of the pieces Drac had composed before leaving to retrieve the actress.

Some of the musicians faltered as the mermaid entered the room, causing a chain reaction as all lost their concentration.

The elderly conductor turned slightly to see what the trouble was, and promptly beamed before applauding happily. "Welcome back, Lady Haru!"

It took next to no time for the rest of the musicians to follow suit, even rising from their seats to continue the ecstatic cheering as if she were a royal returning from a long exile.

' _Isn't this a_ _ **trifle**_ _overdone?'_ Baron inwardly groaned, though he was thankful that no one had thought to throw flower petals on her path.

She blushed at the blatant praise, but didn't seem all that surprised at the downpour of adoration. "Hey, don't quit for little old me," Haru scolded, walking over in order to hand the conductor his fallen baton from where it had rolled away from his platform unnoticed. "Come on, let me hear what all of you can do."

"Ah. Yes, of course, my lady," the older man agreed, giving her a wide smile before tapping the baton against his music stand. "From the beginning, shall we?"

The musicians wasted no time returning to their seats and music sheets, although their eager eyes were still on the mermaid as she stepped backward to let the conductor have his space.

Baron had to fight back rolling his eyes when Drac attempted to silently maneuver himself so that Haru would back step against him, but the mermaid stopped a good foot from doing so.

"You are no ninja, Drac," she murmured without looking behind her.

The tawny feline had no idea what a 'ninja' was, but couldn't help but take some pleasure from the fury in his 'employer's face.

Though he had to admit that the ensuing melody was lovely. Such a pity that it came from such a corrupted mind.

"What do you think of the music, Haru?" Drac tried again with a whisper, having to settle for joining her side instead of 'accidental' contact.

"It has your fingerprints all over it. It's too bad you didn't pursue composing music as a career; you'd have made a killing," she stated with just as much of a whisper so she wouldn't disrupt the music.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I only write my best music when it's for one specific lady," he crooned while taking a sidestep closer to her with an embarrassingly obvious expression.

Haru took one sidestep to avoid the hoped-for contact, giving him a small glare. "If you don't want me to suddenly get a 'splitting headache' and retreat to my room for the rest of the day, you'll knock off that kind of talk. You said this was going to be a strictly professional arrangement."

' _And you_ _ **believed**_ _him? I know he said you could be blind, but surely you knew better!'_ Not that Baron dared to say so out loud. But for the present, his thoughts were still his own.

Drac gave a grunt of disappointment, but waited until the song was over before speaking again. "Speaking of which, Haru; do you think you will be able to manage Baron's singing voice now that you've heard him?" The strangely-built rat stepped aside just enough so that she could look at the feline.

The brown hair gave the lord a glance with a small smile. " **I highly doubt that it will provide much difficulty,** " she answered with the voice in question, making the owner give a jump and a startled glare.

"I do not sound like that!" he snapped in indignation.

" **I'm afraid that I must disagree. What say you?** " she asked a random violinist holding back a smile.

"Yeah, that's his voice all right. Sorry," he added nervously when Baron gave him a glare.

" **Do you have one of Baron's songs under your belt yet? I wouldn't mind showing him what I have planned,** " Haru continued, making the composer hold out a thick music book resting close by. " **Unless, of course, he's changed his mind about singing lessons.** " She gave him a glance, trying not to look interested in his answer.

"I haven't," Baron nearly growled while folding his arms with displeasure. _'I refuse to spend that much time alone with a seductress, even if she could do for my voice what she did for Yuki's.'_

Just the thought of his little niece filled his heart with an aching regret. Despite the one who adopted her, it was obvious that she was very much a little lady. Perhaps it wasn't too late to erase whatever this _siren_ had told the girl was proper behavior.

Haru gave a seemingly non-caring shrug while reading through the song the conductor helped her find in the music book. "You sure this isn't your song, Drac?" she asked, reverting back to her own voice.

He gave a dismissive scoff. "Do I _look_ like Mel Brooks?"

Haru kept talking as she looked over the music. "That doesn't answer the question. This is something _you_ would sing."

"Well, I'm not, at least for the movie. Which one is it?"

"' _Watching'_."

He grinned happily at the word. "Ah, yes. The song that tempts the street rat into meeting a demon so he can enter our world. _Do_ make sure to sound comforting, yet have a dark undertone."

Haru sighed in exasperation, giving Baron an apologetic look. "This is strictly a reflection of who you're playing, not you yourself."

… Well, that was polite enough, he supposed. He gave her a nod to convey that he understood, but hope she wasn't expecting anything more.

The conductor tapped his music stand for attention, and raised his arms to signal the piano in the back to start a light but somehow forbidding melody.

" _ **I will lay the world inside your hands**_ _,_ " Haru started, her 'Baron' voice every bit as darkly charming as Drac wished as violins added a lovely touch.

" _ **Satisfy what no one understands**_

" _ **I can bring you all you've ever dreamed**_

" _ **Wrap you in a world you'll never leave,**_ " she continued, one arm wrapping around her front as if feeling the words as well as singing them.

It was here that the rather obnoxious guitars took over the song, Haru's demeanor turning darker and louder to immediately accommodate. Her voice and the music seemed to become one, making the fur on the back of his neck stand on end as he fought back a chill running down his spine.

" _ **And I'm watching, and I'm waiting!**_

" _ **And there's nowhere you can hide!**_

" _ **And I'm watching, and I'm waiting!**_

" _ **Can't you**_ _feel_ _ **me deep inside?**_

It was here that the song returned to the feel of the beginning, calm but with a forbidding undertone, as if trying to hide the horror that lay in store.

" _ **I can be the one to guide your way**_

" _ **I could be the name you long to say!**_

Oh, wonderful! The guitars were back. Couldn't Drac decide on one mood for this song?

" _ **And I'm watching and I'm waiting**_

" _ **And there's nowhere you can hide**_

" _ **And I'm watching**_

" _ **And I'm watching**_

"… _ **and I'm watching…**_ " Haru repeated, each time softer until the last phrase was barely more of a whisper, the instruments obligingly fading under her guidance. Once the song was done, he could only vaguely see that the brown hair wasn't the only one turning to him with an expectant expression.

'… _It appears that not being able to sing without causing pain has been in my favor. If any of the women back home had heard this out of me, I would have had a much harder time evading their 'affections'.'_ "But can you spin?" he asked, trying not to sound impressed.

She is a mermaid, of course she is an exceptional singer no matter the voice she used.

The musicians and even Drac looked mortified by such a question, but Haru actually giggled, holding one hand to her heart and the one with the music book up as if swearing in court.

"With Yuki as my witness, I can spin."

xxXxx

A/N; 'And I'm Watching' is from Vox Lumiere's Phantom of the Opera, which was done in honor of the Lon Chaney version (and I'll freely admit that I altered a few words). As far as I know, Vox Lumiere's only done this and Hunchback of Notre Dame (also the Lon Chaney version). If anyone finds out about him doing anything else, let me know!


	15. Something Nice

**Chapter Fifteen: Something Nice**

 _If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all._

 _-Thumper, Disney's 'Bambi'_

 **xxXxx**

 _The phone was ringing before Haru was fully awake. But since that was how she usually got her best news, the brunette decided to just yawn while reaching for the phone across the expensive sheets._

 _As much as she loved her Refuge, it was best to save her time there for when she had more than a few days off. As such, she was in her 'show home' for the present. "H-Hello?" she asked after finally reaching far enough for the phone._

" _Oh no, you were still sleeping, weren't you?" Felicia fussed worriedly. "I know I should have waited longer to tell you, but I was so excited-"_

" _ **Breathe!**_ _" Haru laughed, a teasing smile crossing her face at how green her new agent was. "But what's up?" she asked while sitting up in her ridiculously large and canopied bed._

" _Oh, you are_ _ **never**_ _going to believe your good luck," the young blonde woman gushed into her phone. "I got a call last night from one of the best directors in all Hollywood, and he wants you to provide a voice for his movie epilogue for one of the best tv shows in existence!"_

" _That's just fine," she approved happily. 'Less exhausting than doing everything myself, that's for sure.' If it weren't for animated movies that only required her voice, there's no possible way she could be in this many movies per year. "No swear words or such?"_

" _Oh no, he's well-aware of your stance on that, and you'll have a few songs from the sound of it. But get this, you'll never believe it! It's the epilogue to the Princess Tutu franchise!"_

 _An excited scream nearly deafened Haru as she winced, holding the phone away from her ear until her agent was done being a fan girl. "Princess Tutu? It sounds familiar, but I don't think I'm familiar with that one. You sure it's appropriate?"_

 _There was so much silence that the brunette briefly wondered if the line had gone mute._

 _When her agent spoke again, it was with the authority of a drill sergeant. "Get dressed. Have a quick breakfast. I'm coming over with my copies and junk food. You will thank me. That is all."_

xxXxx

This wasn't working! Strain as much as she tried, Yuki couldn't reach the buttons lining the back of the light green dress she had admired the day before. "Grr! Why would my people make such a stupid dress?! Either put the buttons on the front or let me have a zipper!"

Toby didn't provide an answer, since he was already enjoying his breakfast in a corner of the room.

"Sweetie? Are you awake already?" her mother asked while knocking on the door.

Grateful for that familiar voice, the girl grabbed the matching sash and swiftly unlocked the room and poked her head out to see her mother in a long-sleeved black shirt and jeans. "Can you help me, Mom? I can't close the back of this dress."

The brunette quirked an eyebrow, but nodded before following her daughter into the room. As soon as she got a good look at the green dress in question on her child, her lips curled into an adoring smile as she tried not to squeal.

"Go ahead and say it," the white-haired child sighed, used to this reaction every time she wore something particularly princess-like.

"… So… _cute_!" her mother gushed, picking her up and giving her a deep squeeze despite the fact that she was almost two heads shorter than the brunette now. "Is this from Baron?"

"No, his little sister sent this. She made sure I can barely fit a t-shirt into the wardrobe. My back, please?"

"Sorry, sweetie." The brunette set her down and immediately started buttoning the dress up; kneeling in order to do so. "I remember how annoying it is to put one of these on without help. I had a stick back home with just the right end to wiggle the buttons through and back out the buttonholes later if I had a mirror handy."

"Too bad we didn't bring it," Yuki muttered under her breath as she felt the dress close in around her until it felt right. Her mother even grabbed the matching sash and tied it around her girl's waist into an imperfect bow in the back.

Bows had never been the brunette's strong suite, despite Yuki's love for them.

Haru turned her child around, smiling in adoration as she ran one hand through soft snowy hair and the other against Toby's back when he started whimpering for attention and rubbing against one of her legs. "You look _beautiful_ , Sweetheart. Baron's sister has good taste."

' _Wait a minute.'_ "Y…You're not angry?"

Her mother blinked in confusion. "Over what?"

Yuki couldn't help fidgeting with her hands over the worry. "… Hilary didn't ask if she could do this for me and her brother was rude about not liking my regular clothes yesterday."

Haru closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. "Honey? Sometimes, people aren't the best at saying when they disagree with you, but they mean well. This dress proves that- Hilary, was it?"

Yuki nodded, wishing that the aunt in question was watching right now. Or her uncle; from the sound of Renaldo's attempted arguments yesterday, he had the wrong idea about her mother, too.

"That Hilary at least is concerned for you, and she wouldn't have known to send these if Baron hadn't told her about you. Besides, half the fun of learning about a culture is getting to experience it. Just be glad that you aren't wearing a corset with this; those things are _evil_!"

Her phone cut her off from saying anything else, blasting out Skillet again as she checked the ID with one hand. Scowling a bit, she answered the call.

Yuki immediately felt that rippling effect, though she couldn't tell if it was Baron or Hilary spying on them this time.

"What part of 'you're fired' didn't you understand, Felicia?" the brunette asked coldly, giving one last scratch to Toby's ear before standing up.

Yuki had no trouble hearing the other side of the conversation.

"You may have fired me, but Drac hasn't. The dressmakers are ready for you, and we have breakfast things waiting as soon as you get down here. Please don't dilly-dally."

Haru gave a surprisingly good growl of frustration. "Fine. But you better not be there by the time I am."

"I'm in charge of informing Drac that your costumes fit right."

"I'll have one of the dressmakers tell you, but I don't want you at the fittings."

"It's not like we're strangers, Haru," the agent reminded her, only now sounding remorseful about the fact.

"You should have thought about that before ratting me out to Drac." The brunette shut off her phone with another growl. "I made it clear when I hired her that I wanted no contact made with him, and she just goes behind my back and **'oh, by the way, she was working for me before putting in her resume to you,'** " she mockingly imitated in Drac's voice before shaking her head to clear it along with some cleansing breaths. "… Sorry, Sweetie. This isn't how I wanted to leave you this morning," she apologized to her child, who only wrapped her arms around that familiar waist for a desperately needed hug.

"I wish you didn't have to go," the girl whispered, feeling her mother's arms wrap around her for a loving squeeze.

"Me too, Snow Angel. But a contract with a self-righteous brat is still a contract. I'll see you tonight if I can't escape until then."

"You didn't see me last night," Yuki pouted when her mother reluctantly pulled away.

"Yes I did. You were asleep, though. I'm guessing Muta-"

"Renaldo," she corrected with a soft smile.

Her mother's answering smile was sheepish. "Thank you, prefers an earlier bed time than I do. Lock up after me until he comes by with your breakfast," she softly ordered, slipping out of the room before Toby could follow.

The feeling of being watched left the room with her mother.

"Have a great day, Mom," Yuki wished her, getting one last kiss to the brow before her mother started jogging down the hallway. It didn't take much to lock the door, but she couldn't resist her natural curiosity to stand in front of the long mirror that let her see herself from head to toe, right next to the light wood wardrobe. Toby came up beside her with another whine of attention, but all she did was pick him up in order to hug him while staring at her reflection.

The old-fashioned dress did look amazing on her, but it also seemed to highlight just how different she looked from any human, even albinos. Obviously her mother had never minded. Forget that, she flat out _celebrated_ how unique her child is, but…

Yuki pulled at the lacy neckline of the green dress uncomfortably with one finger, not so sure about this style. With her own duffel bag nearly stuffed under the large canopy bed, wearing this really did make her feel like she had stepped back in time, other than Toby's pet-store collar and license as he snuck in a good lick at her chin.

Needing something that would keep her grounded, Yuki retrieved her duffel bag and pulled out enough of her own t-shirts and jeans to retrieve one of her most prized possessions.

It looked like a wooden book at first, but when the pale child opened it like literature, it was obvious that it was two picture frames hinged together to stand as one when set on her bedside table.

On the left was a collage of pictures; little moments the two had taken together with Toby, some with Tim or Bruce, all surrounding a slightly bigger picture of her and her mother in more formal attire and beaming at the camera as Toby gave a doggy grin from his favorite place on Yuki's lap.

That large photo was from two years ago when Tim graduated high school, and her mother decided to get a formal portrait done as long as it was public knowledge that they were in Gotham anyway. She giggled at the memory of so many complete strangers fawning over her mother _years_ after her memorable first impression on the city. Her poor mother had been so embarrassed at all the attention! In front of her child, no less! Though, it _had_ been pretty hilarious when the photographer had used a squeaky toy to get their attention, and her mother had to pry Toby off of the poor man when he made a leap for the rubber lobster.

Yuki giggled at the sweet memory before turning her eyes. The right side had only one picture, large enough to fill the whole frame with nothing but her birth parents holding each other and looking nothing less than happy.

Yuki knelt in front of the table, taking a moment to really study that right picture. Nothing in this photo looked like any part of a tragedy; they were a young couple in love with a baby on the way. She closed her large blue eyes and tried to imagine what their embrace would have felt like, but despite the attempts, the only one her mind could conjure was her adoptive mother's.

The girl tenderly touched the place on her head that the brunette had kissed as Toby pawed at her skirt in worry. "If you had known back then what you know now, what would you have done differently?" she couldn't help whispering to her birth parents' portrait.

She was grateful for Haru, of course! But… was running to a different dimension the only answer they could think of?

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts as the rippling feeling returned. "Coming, Renaldo!" she called out, jumping up and racing over to unlock the room with her little hound hot on her trail.

"For future notice, Yuki," Baron called out instead, making the child freeze in the act of twisting the lock. "It would be wise to determine the identity of the caller before allowing them entrance into your quarters. That is why I gave you an excellent bodyguard, after all, and the rat has many hirelings within these walls."

'… _So Hilary's the one watching.'_ Biting her lower lip for courage, the white-haired girl slowly opened the door a crack to see her uncle carrying a covered tray; possibly both of their breakfasts. "Mom says don't call Drac that; it apparently makes him throw a tantrum like a giant baby."

"I assure you I have discovered this on my own. May I enter?" he asked, his eyes still a shade guarded as he kept staring at her like she was the only thing of note. "Renaldo made us a rather delicious breakfast, and it would be a shame to let it go cold."

' _Come on, Yuki! This is why you talked Mom into the contract!'_ "S-Sure. Come in," she invited, opening the door wide enough for him to walk through. She didn't need to be told to lock the door after the cat man. "Speaking of my bodyguard, is he coming?"

"He's enjoying his breakfast in the kitchen, terrorizing the other cooks. Renaldo may not be the most complicated cat I've ever met, but I cannot deny that he is easily entertained." Baron made himself at home, setting the tray on the little table next to the heavily curtained window. "But I am hoping that you have a finer appreciation for my tea- Goodness! Where are your shoes?!" he gasped, sharply averting his eyes after noticing that Yuki was barefoot.

She cocked her head at him in confusion. "It's just feet, why are you acting like I'm half-dressed?"

"I suppose _Haru_ told you it was permissible to walk around without shoes?" he asked while hurriedly diving for her wardrobe and pulling out a pair of stockings and those strangely feminine boots.

"It's not like I'm out in public," Yuki defended, though obediently taking the items and putting them on next to her bed while her uncle pointedly kept his gaze on the table with his back to her, unloading the covered tray until two places were set.

Toby was now following the ginger cat like a shadow, sneaking in more sniffs and small grunts as he tried to make sense of the tall feline.

Yuki finished with the last stocking before picking up one of the boots. "But yes, Mom prefers being barefoot in private. She says there's too many strange people obsessed with her feet to go barefoot when people can see her."

She could see his jaw set, as if he was just holding back saying something unflattering. "Are you decent yet?"

"Sorry, these weird buttons are giving me trouble," she admitted, folding her leg close in order to determinedly wiggle one button into its hole at a time, sitting on the bed in order to do so. But those little buttons were hard on her fingers, making her sensitive skin sore enough to consider pulling out her sparkly tennis shoes. At least _those_ were easy to just slip on!

It was only then that Baron looked at her, a bit of amusement creeping into his eyes from the girl's struggle. "Might it not be easier if you use your magic?" he asked pointedly. "I already know you have some measure of control, if Haru is completely oblivious of it."

She gave him a surprised glance but bit her lip while stretching her legs out in a way that she could see all the buttons at once. As one, _all_ of the buttons slid into their hole without a fuss.

"I guess I could have done that with the dress, too," Yuki giggled self-consciously, but Baron kept his gaze on her boots with a small smile.

"You have been practicing," he stated like nothing could have pleased him more.

Yuki nodded, suddenly too nervous to look him in the eye as she let her feet come to rest on the green carpet. "I didn't want to accidentally hurt Mommy again."

"Now, now; there's nothing wrong with that," he soothed his niece, giving a gentle rub to her thick white hair before offering the girl his arm again. "Come eat. You will need your strength before you show me what all you can do."

"… I'm sorry my first parents hurt you," she mumbled, letting him lead her back to the little table and hold out her chair for her.

The tall tabby let a flicker of anguish pass over his features before composing himself. "I will not deny that was a dark time I would not repeat for _any_ world, but I assure you I have no plans of punishing you for their callousness. Please sit."

Still a bit nervous, the ten-year-old did as he wanted, a bit surprised when he scooted her chair before helping himself to the second chair.

Toby soon made himself at home by Baron's feet, making the feline look down in mild surprise before turning his attention back to the child.

"Is your pet usually so friendly with strangers?" he couldn't help asking, pouring tea in both of their cups as Yuki studied the simple but delicious looking stack of pancakes that were purple instead of off-white, artistically drizzled with darker purple syrup and strangely shaped purple berries.

Determined to put her best foot forward, Yuki used her knife and fork to neatly cut into them instead of just her fork. "Actually, Toby's pretty picky about who he'll let near me. Maybe he can tell that you're my uncle, but he didn't mind Renaldo at all. I'll admit that Drac was the only one he's outright tried to maim instead of bark at."

"Was there ever a problem with him and Haru?" he asked casually, trying not to look too interested in the answer as he sipped his tea.

Yuki couldn't help giggling at the mental image. "Oh no, Mom helped me nurse and train him since he was two weeks old. He likes her, but I'm the only one he obeys without question." She took a bite of her pancakes, surprised at the amount of flavor that coated her tongue. There was a type of berry in the pancakes and the syrup, likely the same that were all over her plate. A bite of berry confirmed the fact, making her smile happily. _'This type of syrup isn't too sweet!'_

Her uncle shook his head in amazement while cutting his own pancakes. "You will be regarded as a brave trainer in our dimension. Dogs are considered horrible monsters among our kind."

Yuki waited until after swallowing before speaking again. "So how come you're not afraid of Toby? Renaldo was at first."

Baron gave another courtesy glance to the basset hound, looking completely unconcerned. "I assure you that I have faced much larger and more dangerous opponents than your dog. If the only one he wishes to mutilate is the rat, I will be more than happy to speak on his behalf. But enough about Toby; please tell me about yourself."

The small girl sipped her tea… before sipping her cup dry, lowering her cup with a beaming smile. "Did you make this from scratch?"

"Scratch?" Her uncle looked thoroughly confused around a bite of pancake. "Is that an herb on this world? I don't see how you can make anything out of a literal scratch."

Yuki wasn't able to keep herself from laughing. "I-I meant… did you make the tea without a bag? Mom says the only worthwhile teas are the handmade blends, and this is really good."

He gave her a stunned look, but still refilled her cup. "Yes, it's my personal blend. It's an ongoing experiment that I have been toying with since I was about your age. I hope Haru doesn't give you tea made in some cold factory somewhere or one of those flimsy bags!"

She took another sip before answering. "No, the closest thing to tea she gives me is hot water, lemon and a little honey. It's great for when I'm sick or get tired of apple cider. Mom's tried to make her own blend after a co-worker gave her some he made before I was born, but she says she can never make good tea. She's not a bad cook!" the blue-eyed child was swift to defend her beloved mother. "But even she admits that she's a boring cook. I don't mind because she doesn't force me to eat anything that makes me sick."

Baron stared at her a bit, but closed his eyes while taking in a deep breath. "Begging your pardon, Yuki, but I didn't ask after Haru. I asked after you."

The girl looked down, eating more pancakes as she tried to think of something to say. "I'm pretty boring, too. I like reading just about any subject, playing with Toby and spending time with my mom doing whatever we feel like. I take care of our chickens and do dishes and sweeping since I _hate_ having to be in the same room as a running vacuum!" She shuddered at the mere _thought_ of those mechanical monstrosities!

"If you mean that overly loud tool for cleaning carpets in this world, I can understand completely," her uncle assured her after swallowing a mouthful of his own pancakes. "But I doubt you're as boring as all that. What exercises do you practice for your magic?"

"I use books as weights when I need a break from reading. Mom had a lot of books before bringing me home, but now she wishes that she had added an extra floor for a library to keep my book needs under control," she giggled before helping herself to more of that yummy tea.

"Extra floor to what? You obviously felt my eyes on you from the beginning, and all I saw were the two floors that were just adequate for your needs."

Yuki giggled, but ate more pancake so it wouldn't grow cold. "That's all you were _supposed_ to see. There are five hidden floors, so the Refuge is more like a tower sunk into the ground than anything else. Mom just wishes she had made sure there was an extra level for a library for me."

"But not herself?" Baron asked, despite claiming not to want information on the brunette.

"Oh, she has books in almost every room and level. I'm pretty sure that she even has an emergency manual at the swimming pool just in case. She's a firm believer in preparing for the worst and hoping for the best."

"Yuki… I'm still asking after _you_. What are your favorite reading subjects?"

"Physics, math, science, and engineering. I like knowing how things work. I made a few little knick-knacks to make taking care of the chickens easier and improved on Mom's drying rack. She keeps begging for me to design a trebuchet, except I don't see why we'd need one."

Her uncle tapped his chin thoughtfully, keeping his mint green gaze on the child. "Neal's brains are serving you well. Yuki, are you capable of speaking without talking about Haru?"

She stared at him in surprise. "… I'm not sure. I've never wanted to before, at least to other people."

He cocked his head at her, still thinking heavily. "I thought you were in hiding from the public. Surely you spoke to people, if you had a disguise ready for travel."

She looked down at her lap. "Sometimes, but I wouldn't say much. The only human I've ever felt completely comfortable around is my cousin Tim. We talk about Mom a lot, but he enjoys it as much as I do."

That instantly put him on edge. "Oh? Is this the same Tim you were pouting about not taking along for your little vacation?" he asked nearly between his teeth.

She nodded around a mouthful of pancake, making sure to swallow before answering. "Yes, we were planning a trip to Disney World this summer before Drac pulled us into making a movie. Mom was still trying to talk Tim into bringing his girlfriend along so that we could meet her before Felicia's call, but I guess we'll have to wait."

Baron instantly relaxed, though the girl didn't understand why. "Your cousin, eh? I wasn't aware that your mother contacted her sister, let alone her sister's offspring."

"Huh? Oh no!" Yuki gasped, shaking her head to get the message across. "Tim isn't Vicky's son, he's Mom's godson that she just calls her nephew. Here, I have pictures," she insisted, scooting out of her chair in order to race for the folding frames she had put up earlier. "Vicky doesn't have kids. Which is good, she wouldn't have taken care of them if she had any." Yuki grabbed the frames, but stopped herself cold.

Her parents' picture. Would it hurt him to see them again?

"… On second thought, maybe you wouldn't like to see Tim," she tried to say calmly, closing the frames like a book and turning to face her uncle with a forced smile while keeping herself between the table and the cat's line of vision. "They're pretty small pictures, and I bet you like big formal ones."

The tall tabby gave her a look that screamed that he was less than convinced. "What are you hiding from me, young lady?" he asked sternly.

She opened her mouth to answer… but nothing could come out. If she had been her mother, she could have said 'nothing' or think of something completely ridiculous that would distract him until she could think of a new conversation.

While trying to come up with a new topic anyway, Baron kept giving her a disapproving look, eventually holding his hand out and making the frames suddenly appear in his grasp.

Yuki gaped before sharply looking behind her, but the pictures were long gone.

"Don't be so surprised, my little kitten. You got your power from somewhere," he informed her while opening up the frames like a book. His eyes immediately became glued to the right one as if it were the only picture. That sternness fell away as he stared at the photo, forgetting to hide the pain of such a terrible betrayal.

Though that regret looked an awful lot like her mother's. Did he stare off at nothing like she did if not interrupted?

… Yep.

"I didn't want to hurt you," Yuki managed to say after a few embarrassingly long minutes of him silently studying that picture.

He blinked slowly as if waking from a dream as his gaze shifted to her. He took in a long cleansing breath before answering. "I appreciate your concern, but I would rather you were honest with me. That is what troubled me the most about your parents; that I was not worth being told the truth in person instead of in a goodbye letter."

"… I'm sorry," Yuki mumbled while slowly returning to her seat.

"It's not even their best portrait. Well, perhaps Neal's, but definitely not Louise. I'll ask Hilary to send a copy of her coming of age portrait for you."

"Maybe a small one. I'm not quite ready to tell Mom any of this, and I'm not sure I could explain one big enough to hang on the wall," the white-haired girl begged while feeling like a coward. She looked down at the remains of her breakfast, debating whether or not to give the rest of it to her little dog.

"That is a valid point." Suddenly remembering why she wanted to show him the frames, Baron directed his attention to the left, taking careful note of the moments captured behind the glass. "The young tom is Tim?"

"Tom?" Yuki couldn't help asking in confusion.

"Our world's term for males."

"Um, yes. The older one is my godfather. He lets me call him Uncle Bruce since Godfather Bruce is too much of a mouthful for us."

Her blood uncle stared harder at the portraits, as if trying to piece a story together with them. "Is he good to you?"

"He's… polite," Yuki forced herself to say, pushing a pancake bit around her plate to soak up the syrup and avoid eating it. "Tim's the one I get along with."

"What is wrong with your godfather?" her uncle insisted with a dark look. "Has he made you feel uncomfortable?"

"No! Um, sometimes… I think I make him nervous," Yuki admitted after suffering another penetrating look from her breakfast companion. "I don't know everything Mom said to convince him to be a back-up plan for me if something happens to her, but Uncle Bruce and I mostly tolerate each other because we both love Mom and she wants us to be one big happy family. I don't know if she noticed that we aren't really friends, but she says that he was the best choice of people she trusts to raise me." Yuki then pouted. "I would have preferred Uncle Arthur and Aunt Mera since they liked me immediately and are already parents." Then she stopped and thought about that. _'Why_ _ **didn't**_ _she ask them?'_

"I don't see anyone else in these photographs," Baron noted after another careful study. "Do you have pictures of them as well?"

Yuki had to think over all the pictures she had seen in the Refuge. "… No. Maybe Mom does in storage. She acted like a kid in a candy store when they dropped by for a visit." _'Of course, she acts like that whenever an old friend drops by.'_

Drac definitely didn't count as an old friend. Not after what he tried to do to her mother.

His large green eyes turned thoughtful once more. "I see. Well, I wouldn't worry about Bruce if I were you. If anything happens to Haru, I'll take you home with me. I will be able to aid your magical growth better than anyone can on this world, and I will need an heir to carry on my family name."

Yuki cocked her head at him. "What about Hilary? I know she's watching; won't she be offended?"

Baron bit back an amused smile. "As much as I love my sister, even she admits that she does not have the head needed to keep our businesses running smoothly. The fact that you are interested in what makes things work says that you're the better choice for an heir, and I promise she will be the first to agree with my decision."

There was a slight throbbing sensation at the back of her head that Yuki was familiar with. "Are you sure she'll agree completely?"

"She will, once I manage to make her understand that marriage is **not** in my future, no matter how many 'friends' she invites over for tea." His eyes turned a shade darker, probably at just saying the word 'marriage'. He also gave a pointed glare towards the ceiling, as if daring his sister to contradict him.

There, the throbbing sensation was gone.

"What kind of businesses are you in charge of?" she asked to get his mind on a brighter track.

That seemed to do the job, making his eyes immediately light up. "It's combination of your inheritance and mine, actually. Your mother left behind a rather large hutch of rabbits specifically bred for-"

"Rabbits?! I have **rabbits**?!" Yuki squealed with pure joy, making Toby sit up from resting on her uncle's shoe with a surprised 'arf?'.

Baron shook his head good-naturedly. "Inherited your mother's love for them, I see. Yes, at the last count you have fifty-four rabbits, specifically bred to have the softest fur possible."

The small girl nearly started swooning with happiness. "Over fifty cute little bunnies!"

"They're not little," he corrected her with a confused expression. "There's five of them that have grown taller than myself, and the rest are not that much shorter. Except for the kits, of course."

Her grin became even wider at the thought. "Over fifty cute _big_ bunnies!"

Baron almost smiled at her enthusiasm. "I am not afraid to admit that they are more pleasant company than my silkworms. I am pleased to report that your wool and my silk are very high quality and are much sought after by dressmakers, tailors, and anyone that works with textiles for enjoyment or profit. The queen herself refuses any woolen item that didn't come from your rabbits."

"Do you combine the wool and silk to make better yarn?" she couldn't keep herself from asking.

"Oh my, yes. What do you do, knitting? Weaving? Embroidery?" he asked with interest.

Yuki blinked at the question before blushing a little. "No, not me. It takes time away from my books. Mom does just about everything involving yarn or fabric, so I've picked up a few bits of trivia. She's been pretending to be a quilt maker for the past five years, but she makes enough quilts for people in the town we get supplies from to believe it."

"Once again, Haru turns up in the conversation," Baron groaned, covering his forehead with one gloved hand. "Even if you share your mother's disdain for working with textiles. She preferred to be out with the rabbits any day."

The girl stared at him, wondering why he was so bothered by how much she talked about her mother.

Her second one, that is.

He shook off his bad mood to nod encouragingly. "But since you appear to be done eating, why don't you show me just what you can do with your magic? Please, be as creative as you wish."

Brushing off his dislike for now, Yuki turned her gaze to the cell phone resting on her bedside table.

Her mother had _insisted_ on buying her one before leaving the States so that she would be able to contact her mother if anything happened, but it was the Kindle next to the cell phone that lifted into the air and floated to her.

"I like to practice to music," she explained while quickly skimming through her playlists.

"Haru's?" he asked with resignation.

"No, but this will do," Yuki decided, tapping on Grieg's 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'.

The tune at first was mellow as the girl silently commanded the books lining the shelves to come out as if strung on a giant ribbon. In time to the music, they swirled around the room once before gathering in the middle to perform a rotating infinity sign, straighten out into a circle and a spiral before Yuki got an idea with the spiral. Scooting out of her seat again, she commanded more books to fly out of their shelves and arrange themselves like a staircase.

"Wait, Yuki, that could be dangerous," Baron tried to warn her, but the child was already hiking up her skirt slightly in order to step on the first book.

Yuki was certain that his hesitation came from whether or not she was able to keep the book steady with her weight on it. Instead of telling him that she could move full bookcases, she hurriedly climbed her book staircase as the tempo of the song increased and became louder.

Baron was gaping in complete shock as the 'bottom step' books flew up in order to make a sort of rotating floor for the girl, who ran around close to the tall ceiling of the room as if there were only a glass floor to keep her from falling.

Yuki suddenly stopped as a new thought occurred to her. "Wait, I don't need the books!" Changing her focus a bit, she was able to levitate herself just as 'In the Hall of the Mountain King ended and Beethoven's 'Fur Elise' began.

She grinned even wider, laughing at the look on her uncle's face as she made the books flap back to their previous location on the shelves like perching birds. "This is fun! Our ceiling back home wasn't tall enough for me to do this!"

Just to drive the point home, she made the table holding their breakfast and the chair holding Baron lift up into the air so that she could finish eating her pancakes, even if they were cold by now. She decided not to bother with her own chair since she was keeping herself and everything else perfectly steady.

Toby whined and barked pitifully far below until he was lifted up and was rubbing his face against his beloved owner's arm. The little basset hound didn't wonder about being lifted into the air, he was happy only to be with his favorite person.

Yuki fought hard not to giggle at the complete shock on her poor uncle's face. "Are you impressed yet?" _'I wonder if Hilary is.'_

"… You shouldn't be able to do all this yet. Not without being trained," he informed her in a hushed tone.

"I'm trained!" she protested after swallowing a mouthful of cold pancake.

"Not by someone with the proper qualifications. _I_ couldn't do all this until I was twelve _with_ my father training me!"

Her blue eyes went wide with surprise. "The music couldn't help _that_ much, could it?"

"… I honestly don't know, Yuki. How often do you use Haru's music for this?" he asked with a small amount of suspicion.

"Never. Mom's extremely strict when it comes to letting me hear her music other than lullabies or something to dance to. Mom's a really good dancer."

Baron tapped his chin in thought, sliding his plate a bit so that Toby could finish his breakfast. "I'm a bit surprised that she isn't clumsier, all things considered."

"It depends on the day more than anything. How come you don't like me talking about her?"

He blinked before giving a dismissive snort. "I came here to become acquainted with _you_ , not the one raising you."

Yuki shrugged and finished her tea. "Your loss."

xxXxx

Bonus bit of trivia; guess what silkworms eat. **Mulberry leaves**.


	16. Do Not Start Fights

**Chapter Sixteen: Do Not Start Fights**

 _Ladies do not start fights, but they can finish them!_

 _-Marie, 'The Aristocats'_

 **xxXxx**

" _Morning, Baron!" Haru chirruped as the feline lord accidentally walked into the same hallway as her._

 _Both were in costume; her in a plain and ragged brown dress and he in all black with a cloak, as per Drac's demand._

 _Baron cursed himself for not paying more attention to the sound of gentle footsteps. "Good morning, Miss Haru," he responded before quickly marching away towards the great hall for early morning dress rehearsal._

 _But no matter the speed of his own pace, the mermaid had no problem staying by his side, looking nonchalant about him trying to lose her by increased or decreased speed._

 _He tried not to pay attention to how her knee-length head fur flowed and rippled like the ocean's surface in a soft breeze. 'Here it comes,' the tabby inwardly groaned. 'I wonder what boring little topic she's going to use to 'grow close'. The weather, perhaps?'_

" _Would you mind thanking your sister for me?" Haru asked while looking out the windows they were passing. "Yuki looks_ _ **adorable**_ _in those dresses Hilary picked out!"_

 _He gave her a startled glance, since he wasn't aware that she knew about his sister, but was able to brush it off. "I will pass on your gratitude. I hope the comparison makes clear what is 'covering everything important'."_

 _The mermaid fought back a laugh as they approached a corner to turn. "Count your blessings, Baron. Yuki_ _ **could**_ _have arrived in shorts and a bikini top. If I allowed her to own a bikini top, that is."_

' _I have_ _ **no**_ _desire to know what those are.' The term 'shorts' was more than enough description for the tabby._

" _Speaking of which, Mr. Proper; I'm shocked that you didn't ask for permission to visit my daughter," she added in a almost uncaring tone._

 _He stumbled in surprise, turning to stare at the siren. "Yuki_ _ **told**_ _?!"_

 _She cocked an eyebrow at him, slowing down to keep facing him. "Why are you shocked that we talk? It's just surprising that you didn't ask me first."_

 _He couldn't find any anger on her features, but to be fair, he still didn't have that much practice with human expressions other than fear and a little awe. Glee from Drac._

 _If anything, her eyes were fighting back a spark of amusement, as was a corner of her hairless mouth. "This is the part where you offer an excuse or an apology," she suggested, but that wasn't quite where his own mind was heading._

" _My visit to her doesn't bother you?" he asked through no small amount of confusion. 'What happened to protecting her like a dragon?'_

 _Haru gave an uncaring shrug. "Yuki's a better judge of character than I am, and she enjoyed your company. I'm more troubled that you were sneaking about it. Is visiting near strangers' children without their knowledge common behavior from you?" she inquired teasingly._

" _Most certainly_ _ **not**_ _!" he snarled, standing to his full height to slightly tower over her when he stormed close enough to feel her body heat._

 _Not that she had much of it._

 _But not even a flicker of fear showed in her eyes as she tilted her head back slightly to keep eye contact with the feline lord. "So why did you bother going behind my back? Were you afraid I'd say no?"_

' _No, it's because she's more mine than yours, and I shouldn't need_ _ **your**_ _permission to be near a child that was nearly mine!' "N-No," he forced himself to answer, trying to think of something a little less incriminating to tell the mermaid instead._

 _She crossed her arms at him, looking less than impressed. "Baron, it's been clear since Muta-"_

" _Renaldo," he corrected with a growl._

 _She nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you. Renaldo mentioned when we met that you care about children. Thank you for that and taking care of her needs so well."_

' _If she only_ _ **knew**_ _how far I'm going to keep doing so.'_

" _With how you treated her that first day, I'd have been shocked if you weren't interested in getting to know her. All I'm saying is that you don't have to hide your visits from me. Drac will provide all the off-camera drama needed and then some, so let's skip adding a little extra, shall we?"_

'… _Well, if she isn't going to try to stop me…' "That seems reasonable." Baron had a sudden impulse to apologize, but firmly pushed it aside._

 _The last thing he needed was to give the mermaid an excuse to close the distance between them. Hold on, weren't they nearly standing toe to toe a moment ago? He blinked in surprise, automatically glancing around for her._

 _She was five feet away now, half-turned and waiting for him to join her in walking down the corner to rehearsals. "I'm going to let this slide since Yuki likes you, Baron. But if you're planning on taking her anywhere for quality time, I'm going to insist that you ask me first. That's proper, don't you think?" she asked while actually giving him a light glare._

 _He pushed aside that guilty feeling as well as he resumed walking, carefully keeping a few feet between them. "Quite proper. I will keep this in mind." 'Either she is subtle or patient when it comes to her targets.'_

 _Her easy smile immediately returned. "Thank you. That's all I wanted."_

' _ **Very**_ _subtle. But I'm not falling for it.'_

xxXxx

 _No experimenting without Uncle Humbert present._

 _Don't be afraid to ask questions._

 _Study as much as possible since Uncle Humbert is currently under a blood seal to Drac._

The rules weren't written down, per se, but her uncle had made sure that they were engraved on her mind so that she would take her new subject seriously. Not that she needed extra incentive to study something she was already interested in, but it was easier for her to listen to her uncle than to try to explain anything.

"You know, our alphabet looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics," Yuki mentioned while carefully copying the symbol for 'green grass'.

Renaldo grinned at her from his place on the couch, casually rubbing Toby's ear with one hand. "Our world occasionally has dealings with this one, but we more or less stopped when the humans began hunting anyone with magic or they thought had magic. I'm guessing that coming here was Neal's idea; he was always fascinated by human tales."

Yuki fought back a sigh as she kept copying the strange symbols on a thicker paper with an old-fashioned quill, wishing that she had packed pencils and lined paper as she dipped the quill in more ink. "That's the one thing I definitely didn't inherit. What else can you tell me about them?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Her big bodyguard shrugged as he kept rubbing Toby's ear. "Meh, to be honest, I never spent that much time around Neal. He was always the one fussing about how dangerous things were, and since he considered everything I do to be dangerous, I usually stayed away from him to avoid another argument. I have Thomas for arguments."

Yuki bit back a giggle, since Thomas couldn't stay away whenever she and Renaldo took Toby for walks. "Are you _sure_ I can't invite him in here? He's funny!"

"He's not coming in, little lady. Drac forbade him from the castle after Thomas gave him a little… _present_ on his head," he informed her with a wicked smirk. "That's the real reason he's been wearing a hat constantly."

The young girl couldn't help but laugh her head off.

Renaldo closed his eyes, smiling a bit as Toby managed to wiggle his way onto the fat 'man's lap. "… You know? You laugh like Louise. It's good to hear that laugh again."

That made her giggles slow to a melancholic silence. "Did you know her any better?"

"Heh, those were the days," he reminisced. "Louise was smart enough, but she definitely preferred being out with her rabbits to anything else. She wasn't even afraid of the dirtier work like helping a doe give birth or cleaning out a wound from an accident without using magic at all. She had a modest amount of power, but really preferred to work with her hands since she didn't have Humbert's or Neal's passion for studying. But her favorite thing was to sit under a certain tree and try to compose poetry while keeping an eye on her rabbits."

Then he scowled, his hand no longer scratching at Toby's fur. "It wasn't until after she and Neal left that we found out that they had used a communication spell on that book and another one found in his own room."

' _The cat world version of texting,'_ Yuki couldn't help thinking. "What happened to those books?"

"Baron would know, but I wouldn't get your hopes up about him still having them. There's a fireplace in his room, after all, and no one's seen the books since he took them in there, not even the maids."

Yuki deflated at the idea, making her set the quill down to pull out the small gold pocket watch Hilary had sent her. Pulling open the back of it, she could see the portrait of an extremely beautiful white cat hidden within. She was in a breath-taking lilac dress, and holding up a lacy umbrella to fend off the sunlight from behind her.

The elegant white cat looked every inch the perfectly poised lady… but her smile just wasn't as wide as it had been for the human portrait with her father. If anything, it reminded her of her mother's 'public smile'. "It would have been nice to see what they'd say. To hear their voices even through old love letters."

"… I'm sorry, little lady. The simple fact is that we never considered that we'd find you without your parents."

"When we met, you said no one really thought about me as a possibility. You were just trying to bring them home."

"And apologize to Humbert," Renaldo was quick to add, returning to scratching the basset's head when he starting whimpering for attention. "He deserved an apology. _Every_ member of court was there for the ceremony, even the royal family!"

That reminded her of an old question. "For a baron's wedding? Not to be rude, but why would everyone come for the lowest rank? I'm surprised there weren't some snobs above putting in an appearance unless they had a new outfit to show off."

He cocked his head at her in amusement. "There's more than one way to gain status, little lady. In case he hasn't mentioned it by now, Humbert's holdings in the silk and mulberry industry are large, and he was helping Louise with managing her wool empire since her parents had died in the war, even if she was more interested in being with her rabbits than learning how to keep books about them. Humbert was already a respected magician at the time as well, and was putting himself in a good position to be elected into the royal council for his good sense. It would have been the merging of two large fortunes; it was in everyone's best interest to show their support for the match."

Yuki looked down, closing up the pocket watch and slipping it into her dress pocket before clapping her hands twice.

Toby snapped to attention in an instant, hopping off a surprised Renaldo and bounding towards his girl.

The pale-haired child was ready when he pounced at her, wrapping her arms around her little hound to just hold him close. "I apologized to Uncle Humbert already."

Renaldo gave her a sad look, standing up in order to walk over and gently rub her hair. "It's not your fault, Yuki."

"So why do I feel guilty?" she whispered as Toby whimpered in sympathy and licked her face.

"… It wasn't your fault," he repeated, wrapping her in a hug and hold tight. "If anyone back home has the right to hold a grudge against you, it's Humbert, and he's not angry. At you, at least."

"Just the people responsible for my existence," she finished, miserably drawing circles on the hound's belly. _'Just because he has the right doesn't mean others won't hate me anyway.'_ "Can we take Toby for a walk a little early today? A walk would make me feel better."

"Absolutely," her guard agreed in a heartbeat, releasing her to grab the leash.

Even if her mother hadn't laid down the law before they reached the castle, they knew better than to let Toby run free outside Yuki's bedroom.

ooOoo

"No, no, no! Set that camera five inches to the left! _My_ left, you fool!" Drac snarled at the men handling one of the cameras surrounding the area.

' _Despite herself, the mermaid put it eloquently. Control freak.'_ Not that Baron would ever admit to himself that he agreed with her.

"Is this worth wasting the light?" Haru asked, leaning against a tree a good five feet away from the one the feline lord was resting against in the lightly wooded area at the bottom of a rocky hill far from the castle.

Almost like turning a page, the director put on a sweeter face to speak to the siren, making sure his tone was just as honeyed as his expression. "No, we'll be done soon, once these _imbeciles_ get everything situated! Be careful with that, do you think high-quality cameras come cheap?!" As soon as he was facing away from her, his anger and irritation had returned with a vengeance.

The brown hair gave a tired sigh before crossing her arms. After a few blissful minutes of silence other than the director snarling at the poor servants trying to make his vision work, she looked over at the feline lord. "Baron?"

' _Here it comes,'_ the tabby thought, mentally bracing against the inevitable-

"I don't know whether to ask you or Drac, but do we have a specially trained crow for your shadow-"

"Caw!" an old friend called as Baron pointed up to the tree he had been leaning against.

Her brown eyes left the feline as they trailed up to the black bird on one of the highest branches. "Ah. I thought he was just a random crow. If he's even a 'he', that is."

" _His_ name is Thomas," he was quick to inform her before she could try to rename his feathered friend as she was continually trying with Renaldo.

"Ah. Hello, Thomas," she greeted as the crow flew down in order to perch on his master's shoulder. "I'll just go ahead and apologize in advance for the number of times I'll accidentally call you 'Toto'."

Baron fought back a growl as he rubbed Thomas' back. "Must you do that?"

"What, you think he'd prefer I apologize each and every time I slip?" She gave another non-caring shrug. "Meh, I'll probably do that anyway-"

"No," Baron cut her off, nearing the edge of his patience. "Why do you feel the need to rename strangers like this?"

She gave a small laugh before answering. "I don't feel a need; it's just that you and your friends strongly remind me of characters from my work. Is 'Baron' grating on your nerves?" she added, suddenly looking worried.

"No, I'm already called that by a number of people."

"Um, if it's bugging you at all… _Renaldo_ has no trouble correcting me, and I doubt To- _mas_ is going to hold back cawing at me if I mess up and he doesn't like it, right?" she asked while directing her gaze at the crow.

"Caw caw," he responded, not giving much else of an answer from his perch on Baron's shoulder.

It was answer enough for Haru, who was pointing at the crow as if he had proven her point. "There, see? Your friends don't need an advocate."

Baron scowled at her, wishing that she would get on with it and try her tricks on him so that he could say no and be done with the tension. It may have only been a week since meeting her, but surely the mermaid's willpower was running short by now.

But instead of saying anything else, she tilted her head up enough to watch some clouds pass by. One of her fingers began tapping on her arm, then two.

She wasn't even sneaking glances at him. It was almost like she had forgotten anyone else was around. Her lips curled into a reminiscing smile as she fought back a laugh, still staring at the nearly perfect blue sky.

"May I ask what is so amusing?" Baron asked stiffly, making her snap to attention.

"Say something?"

"What are you laughing about?" he tried again, a little miffed that she didn't hear him.

"Just a favorite memory." Her large brown eyes turned back to the sky, smiling even wider as she gazed upward.

"Care to elaborate?" he nudged.

"Not really."

' _Then keep that smile to yourself!'_ Suddenly he blinked and redirected his own gaze to Drac finishing his tirade as the camera finally started sliding into the exact spot the director wanted. _'Oh, I see what you're up to,_ _ **siren**_ _! You're not the first female that's tried to trick me into being the aggressive one. Let's see how well your plan works if I keep my distance despite your efforts."_

"Ah ha! It's finally perfect! Haru, Baron; places! Wait, why are you down here? You're supposed to climb down the rocky hill in time with the music you've already recorded!" Drac informed her as if he hadn't spent the ten minutes before moving the camera telling her what he wanted.

"You say that like it's going to take me half an hour to get up there," she sighed in a bored tone, running over to the rocks to start jumping from one to another up the hill.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" the feline couldn't resist calling out, but was quickly proven wrong when she reached the top of the hill without incident.

"Silly; I'm supposed to hurt myself on the way back down, remember?" she giggled before disappearing from view.

"… She _does_ mean that she'll pretend to be hurt, doesn't she?" Baron asked Drac, who merely waved away his concern.

"Haru's a professional klutz; even if she gets hurt for real, she won't raise a fuss more than what looks good for the camera. Now get to your place!"

His legs immediately began marching to the rocks against his will, making him give a regretful look to Thomas when he reluctantly flew off his shoulder and returned to the tree after giving a death glare to Drac.

The feline lord adjusted his long black cape before sliding into the small cave created by some of the rocks. Pulling his hood on, he couldn't help but wish for his top hat as he made a flat stone sit up by itself and roll over in order to hide him.

Noticing that the ludicrous symbol was facing him, he quickly rotated the stone so that it was facing outward before Drac could notice and berate him for that as well.

' _This is so_ _ **stupid**_ _!'_ he couldn't help lamenting privately. _'Out of all the things Mother and Father once hoped and prayed for me, becoming a mere_ _ **performer**_ _had never been considered as a possibility!'_

The plan had always been simple. Study, learn how to take his father's position as Baron, take his second cousin for a wife when the time was right and ensure the continuity of the von Gikkingen line before teaching his children to follow in his footsteps.

It would have been a good life. Not as exciting as the one he chose after losing Louise to one he had loved as a brother, but it would have been lovely to be a father.

The tall tabby had to be careful about how he shook the thought out of his mind to avoid hitting his head on the rocks surrounding him. _'Now is not the time for such thoughts! Focus on the task at hand, and you'll have what should have been yours from the beginning.'_

Despite his disdain for the mermaid, he couldn't bite back a flinch at how painful Haru's tumble sounded as his earpiece played in a low tone the 'Watching' score she had already recorded.

Maybe the guitars would make more sense when he saw the finished product.

ooOoo

"Do we _have_ to walk through here for Toby?" Renaldo whined, holding a hand to his nose to try keeping out the scent.

"It's not that bad, you big baby," she scolded as Toby hopped in the tan sand, his large tongue hanging out in a silly puppy grin before he barked at passing seagulls.

"It's burning my nose!" the disguised cat complained through his large hand.

"You can walk a bit more inland if you want," Yuki offered while trying not to laugh at him.

"No, I need to stay with you, remember? Bodyguard? Mercy?" he pleaded with a pathetic pout that would have looked more at home on Toby's face.

Yuki rolled her eyes while suppressing a giggle, but gently tugged on her hound's leash to encourage some distance from the ocean's edge. Toby gave a surprisingly similar pout to Renaldo's, but obediently left the sand behind.

"Come now, little lady! How can you _stand_ so much saltwater?" he asked once he was able to breathe a little easier.

Yuki gave him a firm look, staying within sight of the ocean as they grew closer to the trees trimming the modest beach. "I happen to like it. It's about the same smell as Mom right after a swimming lesson or a bath. It's almost as soothing as having her next to me." A soft smile caressed her young face.

He gave her an incredulous look. "Remind me not to go near her when she's taking care of that, then. But you still don't find her scent odd?"

"Just drop it, Renaldo," the white-haired girl sighed, still in a good mood from that wonderful ocean smell.

"Actually, I think I've been 'dropping it' long enough," he stated seriously, gently grabbing her shoulder in order to turn her enough to face him, kneeling down to put the two eye to eye. "Aren't you even a _little_ curious about what Haru is?"

Yuki was finding this question more tiresome every half-chance he used to bring it up. "Why are you fixating on it? Mom's harmless. Until someone does something stupid, in which case I wouldn't want to be in their shoes," she giggled guiltily. _'I would_ _ **never**_ _crack a joke like that in front of Mom!'_

"Oh no, not you too," he groaned, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it. "Do you really think that someone with as little muscle as Haru can be _that_ good of a fighter?"

"I watched her kill a wolf three weeks before meeting you," she replied bluntly as Toby did his business against a bush. "With her bare hands."

Renaldo stared at her for a long moment… before laughing his head off and slapping his knee as he stumbled to a halt. " _Ha_ , that's a good one!"

She folded her arms, though keeping her grip on Toby's leash as she gave her 'manny' a glare of disapproval. "I'm not joking."

"Yu… Yuki," he gasped between his guffaws. "You don't have to cover for her. It's pretty obvious that those are just silly rumors to keep unwanted admirers at bay."

Yuki gave a snort at her mother needing extra help in that department. "Mom doesn't need rumors for that, Drac being the exception. One of the reasons she didn't want the job is because she once told me she'd probably have to disembowel that creep if he ever tried to come near her again. She even keeps a special knife on her, just for him."

Renaldo started laughing even harder than before, actually falling to his side in a hysterical fit. "Stop! Stop, I can't take anymore!"

That made her lip curl into a snarl. She hadn't been blown off like this since before meeting her mother. "Come on, Toby," she coaxed, leading him back to the saltwater's edge. "Renaldo needs some time to calm down."

"H-hold on, Yuki! I need to stay with you, remember?" he called out soon after realizing that she wasn't around.

The girl fought back a growl, but didn't otherwise acknowledge him as he breathlessly caught up to her, once again trailing her feet over the sand to leave a trail.

He kept a sleeve to his mouth, choking on his chuckles from the closeness of the salty waves. "I thought you were going to let us walk a little farther away than this, Yuki."

The girl kept her blue eyes on Toby as he obliviously romped in the sand.

"Yuki? Come now, that _was_ an excellent joke!"

She didn't answer him. She didn't even look at him as she started lightly jogging, much to her dog's delight.

"Yuki? You need to stay close!" he called after her, huffing a bit as he struggled to keep up with the two.

Nope. Not a word.

Thankfully by now, Renaldo had gotten the idea that she was miffed. "Was it something I said?" he panted after running just hard enough to almost touch her shoulder.

She turned enough to send him a glare, one that was enough to stop him in his tracks in surprise. "If you're incapable of taking my word seriously, I'm unwilling to think about my mom's scent as anything but home," she hissed before continuing the walk with her still-happy basset hound. _'Besides, I'll find out all about that when I turn twelve, anyway.'_


	17. Bonkers

**Chapter Seventeen: Bonkers**

 _You're entirely bonkers._

 _-Alice, Alice in Wonderland_

 **xxXxx**

 _Alex could hardly believe his luck as he slid his bow across the strings,_ _ **feeling**_ _Haru's song as well as playing it._

 _Just as the rumors said. If it were possible to replace blood with music alone, he'd believe that she alone had the ability._

"… _**I'm just a mean green mother**_

" _ **From outer space, and I'm bad!**_ _" Haru announced proudly._

" _Mean, green, bad!" every member of the orchestra except the wind section answered with a gleeful smile._

" _ **I'm just a mean green mother**_

" _ **From outer space, and it looks like**_

" _ **You've been had!**_ _"_

 _The violinist really only had one eye on the music and conductor, keeping the other one on the brunette as she danced in front of them like she was on stage once again. The microphone in her hand probably wasn't on, but there was a large grin on her lips as she sang just for them._

 _It was_ _ **totally**_ _worth the extra hours of practicing to hear her sing this again!_

" _ **And I. Am. Bad!**_ _" Haru proclaimed proudly before joining the orchestra's chorus for the climatic 'aah's to end the song. She slowly turned around, an ecstatic smile on her lips as they opened to offer praise-_

" _Really? This is how you waste your time between shootings?" a familiar voice griped tiredly, making everyone look over to the door slightly before the music was done._

 _Haru blinked in surprise at the intruder, but gave a shrug before answering. "Hmm, making myself happy, making other people happy, having a bit of fun while doing so… I don't see that as a waste, Baron."_

 _That didn't stop the tall orange feline from glaring at her from across the room. "I suppose you found it amusing to choose such a masculine voice for something intended for a female? Because I'm not laughing."_

 _She bit back a giggle. "No, the first singer was male. It's just a song, Baron; stop taking everything so seriously."_

 _Those large green eyes widened with incredulity. "Why on earth would a male sing about being a green mother?"_

 _Haru tucked the microphone under one arm in order to emphasize her words with her hands. "He was providing the voice for a plant that just revealed that he was planning to take over the planet by filling it with flesh-eating plants like himself. Which was named Audrey II. It's a really good movie."_

 _He kept looking at her like_ she _was the one from another dimension before opening his mouth._

" _No, Yuki isn't seeing that one for a few more years. And the movie makes more sense when you watch it instead of explain it. Did you need something, or are you just passing by?" the brunette asked with a certain tightness in her tone._

 _With his usual complain vetoed, the feline lord had to take a second to think of a new complaint. "… Did you just say that a plant with gender confusion taking over your planet makes for an excellent show?"_

" _Actually, it was the buildup between characters before finding out the plant's plan that made it interesting. And the songs are fun, as you just heard. A story's always improved when you throw in amazing songs," she added with one of her fun-love smiles._

 _Baron shook his head in exasperation. "Honestly, how did one as childlike as yourself be deemed trustworthy to raise a child on your own?"_

 _Although her eyes flickered with annoyance, her impish grin turned wry. "Well, it all started when a serial killer clown decided to crash-"_

" _Haru! I'm being serious!" the feline snapped at her angrily._

" _So am I. Are you sure you don't want to hear what happened?" she couldn't resist teasing._

 _The giant feline gave a loud growl before storming out of the room in a huff._

 _A few girlish giggles escaped her throat before turning back to the dead silent orchestra. "I have all of you for witnesses, right? He won't be able to say I didn't try to tell him."_

 _Alex could feel his head nodding, but a question popped out of him too quickly to control. "Why do you let him disrespect you like that?"_

 _Her large brown eyes flickered to him with a small smile. "I'd rather he hated me as a person than fear me as… well,_ _ **that**_ _. Any other songs you have up your sleeve?" she asked the conductor, who nodded as well._

" _If you don't mind, we've been looking forward to 'I Will Glow'."_

 _She gave a small laugh and smile, twirling the mic between her fingers like a baton. "People still remember that silly parody?"_

" _It's not silly!" a trombonist protested. "Anyone can tell you wrote those lyrics from experience." Then she flinched, as if just remembering the singer's reputation herself._

 _That was the first time Alex saw his childhood hero flinch as well, a bit of depression slipping onto her features until she no longer resembled a kid locked in a candy store._

 _But if there was anything known about the star personally, it was that she never stayed down, either in body or spirits._

 _Taking in a deep cleansing breath, Haru nodded at the conductor, who looked relieved that she had not chosen to take offense at the stated fact. "Ready whenever all of you are."_

xxXxx

"Sweetheart? It's me," her mother crooned while gently rubbing Yuki's shoulder to make her awaken.

The girl stretched once before opening her eyes, not wondering about how dark the room was.

This had been the only way to see her mother every day, since Renaldo insisted she go to bed early and her mother often worked late.

"How was work today?" she asked while rubbing one eye and sitting up. The edge of her senses buzzed with the knowledge that Baron or Hilary was watching them again.

Probably Baron at this hour. Didn't he ever sleep, or was this a nightly check for him as well?

"Considering the company, pretty tolerable," her mother reported, sitting on the edge of the bed with a wry smile. One hand gently rubbed Toby's back to encourage him to stay asleep at the far end of the covers. "Honestly, I'm shocked that Drac's been behaving himself this well."

"I wouldn't let your guard down if I were you," her daughter warned, making the older woman laugh.

"Definitely not. So, did you learn anything interesting today?"

The pale girl's cheerful smile soon faded as she looked down at her lap. "Renaldo thinks I'm a liar. I told him about the wolf incident."

The brunette snapped to attention with horrified eyes. "You didn't!"

"I know you wanted me to keep quiet about it, but he… He thinks you're a liar, too! He thinks those stories about what you can do when you get angry is just gossip to keep the crazies at bay!"

Haru closed her eyes and silently counted to ten. "Sweetness, I'm okay with him thinking that."

Her daughter gaped at her.

"I'll tell the truth if he asks about it," the older female clarified with a loving smile. "But please, Sweetie. Having people around that aren't afraid of me when they know **I'm** around is kind of refreshing."

Yuki couldn't help feeling a little put out by that statement. " _I'm_ not afraid of you, Mom."

Those familiar brown eyes melted with love, making her collect a deep embrace around the warm quilts. "… I can't believe people _wonder_ why I retired for you." She pressed a kiss against her daughter's thick white hair. "Ready to go back to sleep, Sweetheart?"

"Only if I get a lullaby," Yuki insisted as she was lovingly tucked back into bed.

The one watching immediately stopped, as if he knew that he'd be put to sleep as well.

Her mother gave her one of her best smiles before opening her mouth.

" _You don't run with the crowd_

" _You go your own way_

" _You don't play after dark_

" _You light up my day_

" _Got your own style_

" _That sets you apart._

" _Yuki, that's why_

" _You've captured my heart…_ "

The ten-year old never could be sure if she was just awake enough to feel that goodnight kiss on the forehead after the song was over, or if she dreamed it every night.

Either way, she couldn't imagine a better way to fall asleep.

ooOoo

"This should be easy for you, Yuki, but do not fret if you can't do it." Baron stepped away from the pillar candle sitting alone on the little table in the girl's room. "Everyone back home has some form of magic, but how it manifests can vary to a wide degree."

The white-haired girl braced her hands on the table's edge, glaring at the wick peeking out of the wax. "I've never tried to make fire before."

"Thank heaven for that. I imagine that Haru would have asked questions if you had left burn marks anywhere."

She nodded, not taking her eyes off the candlewick. "Maybe if I think of something that makes me angry," she muttered under breath, although a smirk said that she already knew what to think of.

"Actually, Yuki, involving emotions with your magic is not advisable," her uncle informed her quickly, gently grabbing her shoulder to discourage her from trying it. "Especially fire magic. More than one cat has killed or maimed on accident because they involved their emotions. Please understand, magic is not something to be trifled with."

The white-haired girl pouted, but could see his point. Since straining her brain wasn't igniting any sparks, she looked down at Toby as he chewed on his favorite rubber bone in the corner. After a while, her unusual blue eyes lit up with inspiration, making her drag the candlestick a little closer and using her levitation skills to rise slightly.

Baron said nothing, but Yuki could still feel his eyes on her, curious and protective as she leaned a little closer to the wick than he was comfortable with. The child took in a deep breath and blew on the wick as if blowing out the candle.

Strangely enough, that blew _on_ the candle as easily as a light switch.

Beaming happily, she turned to the stunned cat man. "How was that, Uncle Humbert?"

"… Unusual, but effective! Where did you get such an odd idea?"

Yuki let herself descend to the green carpet before answering. "Mom once showed me a movie called Practical Magic. The main witch could do that." She smiled a little bashfully, ignoring the irritation on her uncle's face. "But since Mom keeps only emergency candles for when the power goes out, I never got to try it before now."

Taking in a deep breath, he walked forward and knelt next to his niece to take her by the shoulders. "What else did that movie teach you? I doubt that could be her only trick if she's the main witch."

The little girl wasted no time ticking off the list on her fingers. "If you're in a bad relationship, get out, if you're different, be prepared for mobs until they want you to do them a favor. Be careful when playing with poisons, resurrecting the dead is a bad idea, especially when it's a dirt bag that just tried to kill you or someone you love. Don't do love spells since that makes you constantly wonder if the person really loves you or not and isn't fair to the other person. While you're at it, don't cast anti-love spells on yourself unless you want to unintentionally cause a lot of innocent deaths, plant lavender for luck, don't jump off the roof without an umbrella-" she cut herself off with a giggle on that last one. "But with my levitation skills, I shouldn't have to worry about having an umbrella or not. Too bad Mom would have a heart attack if I tried that. Oh, and it makes you look petty if you curse someone for bullying you, but I still think that kid deserved the chicken pox for going after little girls that just wanted to be left alone. Heaven knows I've done things like that before getting adopted," she admitted, shamefully looking down to the floor.

Her uncle took his sweet time before finding something to say. "I believe I may need to have a talk with Haru about what is and is not appropriate to expose to a girl of your age." Standing up, it took one breath to blow out the candle. "Now let's say you can't breathe on what you wish to light. How would you still do it?"

Yuki was pleased to discover that all it took was thinking about blowing on the candle.

ooOoo

"That particular movie shows the consequences of using magic to fix problems that only become worse as opposed to patience and honesty. I have no regrets over 'exposing' my daughter to such concepts," the brunette answered with a surprising amount of calmness as she kept her attention on a bit of ridiculously bright pink knitting between her fingers as she sat on a rock in the new shooting location, barely in seeing distance to the castle.

Drac was screaming at the camera men again, so for the moment the two stars had a quiet moment to chat on the sidelines.

"Speaking of Yuki, are you still getting along with her all right?" Haru asked while still focused on her craft.

Baron grit his teeth in frustration, but saw no reason to dodge the question. "I assure you that I find Yuki's company to be quite enjoyable. I just worry about what you are allowing to permanently warp her mind."

Haru looked up from the obnoxious color, finally showing him a glimpse of annoyance. "I'm 'warping' her into thinking about long-standing consequences to, what at the time, look like easy fixes. Are you really going to object to giving her that kind of thinking?"

His green eyes narrowed into slits as his blood seemed to boil in his veins. "That kind of perspective? Certainly not. You as the teacher? That is where I hold my doubts."

Those hypnotic brown orbs narrowed as well, but her fingers did not slow their pace on the inferior yarn as she stood up from the rock to look him in the eye the best she could. "If you know enough to see that in a hypocritical view, then it should be obvious even to you that I have an in depth look of what happens when you think short term instead of long. If you're worried that I'm teaching Yuki to be like me, you can forget about it. I've been doing everything in my power since meeting her to make sure she avoids my fate."

Baron unconsciously let a breath of relief escape him. "Thank codfish!"

Her glare increased as she stuffed the knitting into her bag and let it fall to the ground next to the rock she had been sitting on. "I'm insulted that you thought I'd ever want my life for her. The one thing I'm sure we'll always be able to agree on is that my daughter is made of finer stuff than I ever was."

"That's ri-" Baron tried to agree, but she was already walking toward the director to ask how much longer until they were ready to start shooting. _'Wait, she didn't even wait for me to agree with her?'_

A sudden weight on one shoulder was enough to announce Thomas. "Call me crazy, but I don't think she's planning to seduce you," he whispered into his friend's triangular ear while pretending to preen through the orange fur. "Two months is surprisingly long for an admirer to resist throwing herself into your arms, you know."

The orange feline rolled his eyes before answering just as softly to avoid attracting the mermaid's attention. "She is patient and cunning. But I am hardly naïve."

He couldn't see it, but the crow was frowning at him. "Baron, she's been nothing but polite to you since we saw her lay eyes on your picture. Would it kill you to at least be cordial until she makes an attempt?"

The lord was forced to settle with subtly shaking his head. "That would be as good as inviting her to try for me, and I want her to understand that I would never have her."

Thomas sighed before whispering again. "Fine, but you should be more careful. Whatever her plans for you are, please keep in mind that she's at least trying to do right as a parent."

" _Adoptive_ ," Baron was quick to correct.

"Are you planning anything different?" he asked, flying off before his master could answer.

' _Of course it's different!'_ he fumed silently. _'Yuki was supposed to be my daughter from the beginning, I am only claiming what is rightfully mine.'_ The tawny feline glared at the mermaid as she finished exchanging words with the rat who was struggling to seem pleasant for her sake.

A small pout said louder than words that Drac wasn't ready to start shooting, but she didn't come back to reclaim her knitting. Instead, she chose to rest against a tree trunk on the edge of the clearing and turn her gaze back to the sky, far enough from Baron so that conversing would be less likely.

Slowly, the tension in her shoulders and eyes relaxed as those brown orbs seemed to glaze over slightly, and the ends of her mouth tipped upward in the faintest suggestion of a contented smile.

What memory of the sky could inspire tranquility like that out of a sea creature? He had plenty himself, mostly due to Thomas, but what could she find in the sky that would provide such comfort?

"Besides, you watch her a lot more often than she watches you," the crow in question whispered from the stone Haru had been sitting on.

He gave his friend a glare that would have silenced almost anyone from his world.

Unfortunately, it could only inspire a teasing smirk out of the bird. "I haven't seen you pay this much attention to a girl in years. Why, you're not growing fond, are you?"

"Shut it!" Baron hissed between his teeth as his blood boiled at the thought of anyone mistaking him for taking a fancy to such a temptress.

Even if her head fur and large eyes were a pleasing shade of brown…

ooOoo

Yuki was more than familiar with the gentle hands gently massaging her shoulders and head, slowly coaxing her out of slumber to a surprisingly bright room. "Mom? Why didn't you come last night?" she yawned as Toby gave an awakening yawn of his own.

Her mother was grinning by the time the little girl was able to focus on her. "I wanted to make double sure you rested well last night. I've got a full day planned for us."

The younger girl's face almost split in half from a large grin. "Really? It's about time!" she cheered, throwing off her covers and hopping out of bed. "Should I dress nice or normal?"

Haru flipped her long pony tail worth of brown hair back over her shoulder before making the large canopied bed with difficulty. "Whichever you like but be warned that we'll be on horseback. Okay, I'll say it; I'm going to teach you how to ride."

Yuki squealed with joy and decided to drag out her duffel bag for normal clothes. Her mother was in normal clothes for once, and she would have felt overdressed in one of her native world's dresses.

One quick breakfast of fruit and weak lemonade later, all three were racing down the hall and towards the stairs. Grinning like a child, Haru kept a grip on the saddlebag slung over her shoulder as she slid down the banister with a laugh of delight.

With a smile as wide as her mother, Yuki let go of her hound's leash and was halfway down the banister herself when her uncle's voice rang out like a roar.

"What are you _doing_?!" Baron yelled, making the little girl almost fall off before reaching the end where her mother was waiting and Toby was still keeping pace on the stairs with the child.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Proper, now was not the best time to startle my daughter," Haru informed him, her tone strangely firm when compared to how joyful she had been earlier, catching Yuki and swinging her around once before setting her on the ground. "She could have gotten hurt when you scared her."

Yuki quickly grabbed the other end of Toby's leash in case Drac showed up as well.

"When _I_ scared her? You're the one encouraging such reckless behavior!" he snarled while taking the stairs two at a time with long strides.

"Yuki has better balance than me, so if I can handle it, she can too. See you tomorrow, Baron," she responded, sounding less warm and more polite as she claimed one of her daughter's hands, gently tugging her away from the stairs while keeping one hand on the saddlebag strap.

The only one that was completely relaxed was an oblivious Toby, who was nearly bouncing with every step and giving a doggy smile.

"Where precisely are you taking her?" he asked as if a kidnapping was in the works, finally catching up to walk alongside the two females as they headed toward the large front doors.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my lord. Is Yuki _your_ daughter or mine?" she asked while giving him a pointed glare.

The tawny feline seemed taken aback by the question, and couldn't think of the appropriate response.

"Mom's going to teach me how to ride a horse," Yuki finally informed him when the silence turned too awkward and her mother pushed one of the large front doors open.

"We will be gone until sunset," Haru mentioned while leading the way to the stables.

Baron gave her another glare as Thomas came down and landed on his shoulder, now that they were out of the castle. "If you are leaving the castle, why isn't Renaldo coming with you?"

The brunette nearly answered, but managed to stop herself. "No, that's a little **too** rude. I gave him the day off, why don't you go enjoy your own?"

"Haru, it is dangerous for two females to go out to the shore by themselves," he tried to reason.

She threw the saddlebags over an already saddled horse with a spotted black and white coat, almost like a Dalmatian. "I don't seem to remember saying anything about the ocean, and we have Toby even if I was worried about predators."

Although Baron had grown fond of the pet, he still gave an indelicate snort. "Surely you don't believe that little hound would be any good in a fight with a wild animal."

Haru's smile turned fond for the tiny basset. "He certainly gave it his best shot last time it happened. Yuki, should we have you hold Toby or let him run beside us? I forgot a bag to keep him in."

Yuki gave her excited pet a long look before unhooking his leash. "I think he'd like to run if we don't go too fast."

"Haru, this is ridiculous, even for you," the tabby scolded, putting his hands on Yuki's shoulders and brought her closer to him in a protective gesture. "There's only so long you can play along with those incessant rumors before you have to live up to them. Is Yuki's safety really worth risking for a bit of privacy?"

"Baron," she growled as a warning, nearing the end of her rope. "I know you're in love with the idea that I'm an incompetent parent, but you need to get over it before I get annoyed enough to say you can't come near my daughter. Now back off."

"I'll be okay, Uncle Humbert," the young girl assured him, swiftly leaning down and taking the two steps needed to escape his grasp and join her mother's side. "Anything that attacks me in front of Mom deserves what she can do to them." She soon felt her mother's hands grip her by the waist and lift her up to the hard leather saddle.

Though shocked that the child was siding against him, he soon returned to glaring at the brunette as she untied the reins from the side of the stall. "Isn't there anything you would like to say to the child?" he asked tightly, as if expecting her to come clean about the only rumors he should have been taking seriously as she mounted behind her daughter.

"Well, I have something to say to _you_. Good day!" she snapped, flicking the reins enough to encourage the stallion to encourage him to start trotting out of the stables.

"Now see here!" Baron tried to call out as Toby ran out after them, but it didn't take long for the spotted horse to run out the castle's gates and towards the surrounding forest.

Just after they were out of sight of the castle, Yuki felt that rippling sensation again as Baron started watching them. She gave a glare up to the sky from the intrusion, but couldn't say anything to scold him with her mother right there.

Perhaps a different approach. "Mom? Why didn't you just tell him?"

"Because he wouldn't have believed me without a demonstration, that would have cut into our day together, and I already said I don't want his fear. But I will admit that he's pushing his luck," she growled as the trees seemed to close in around them. "He doesn't degrade _you_ , does he?"

Yuki could only laugh at the thought. "Oh no. He thinks I'm amazing."

"Good. Then I won't have to hurt him."

ooOoo

Baron could only roll his eyes at the small mirror in his pocket watch, even if he felt more like growling. Really! For all the subtlety in her approach, one would have thought she could have read between his words with ease! "Follow them, Thomas," he ordered softly, making the crow look at him with surprise. "If she will not allow my company, you could provide more protection than she'll consider when something happens."

"Frankly, I'd have been shocked if she _did_ say you could come," the crow snapped, squeezing a little too hard with his talons before taking to the sky and flying about the trees. _'Honestly, he can't even be polite to Haru in order to spend more time around his niece?'_

It didn't take long for him to catch up to the mermaid and kitten, keeping an eye on them from far above until they reached the clearing that the rat had taken them to last week. He shot down and was able to find a branch that obscured him just enough to keep Haru or Yuki from seeing them. Toby caught up to them before long, happily romping around the meadow like a newly weaned pup.

"Oh, this is beautiful!" Yuki sighed while looking around with delight as her mother slowed the horse to a halt. "It's almost like home."

"I knew you'd love it." She gave the girl a deep hug before dismounting. "Now before we get started, I have a surprise for you."

Yuki's sweet blue eyes lit up as she hopped out of the saddle and landed in the brunette's arms with complete trust. "Really? What is it?"

Haru laughed and set her down before gently using her fingertips to close the girl's eyes. "No peeking."

Yuki immediately covered her eyes with both hands, making the older woman quickly start rooting through one of the saddlebags until producing the bit of bright pink knitting she had been working on before and between scenes.

It still didn't look like anything, but Haru was confident about slipping it over her daughter's head and easing the hands down so that it rested comfortably around the neck, where a tiny bow had been made with the leftover yarn. "Okay, open them."

Those large blue orbs opened, taking one look down before making a happy squeal. "My cowl! You finished it!"

"Sure did. Drac wastes so much time making everything perfect for a shoot that I was able to get it done a lot faster than normal. There's even enough of it to make a hood like this," Haru showed her, lifting the back of the cowl over Yuki's white hair.

The child responded by throwing her arms around the mermaid's neck with a happy laugh. "Oh, thank you, Mom! It's perfect!"

Toto couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

" _Honestly! Raising such a fuss over something of inferior quality,"_ Baron griped into the crow's mind.

"It was made with love by her mother, why would she react any other way?" Thomas whispered, watching the two snuggle happily before the older girl reluctantly ended the hug.

"Course, now I wish I brought more yarn. This is what I get for assuming that since we were going to Mondorra for months, it would have been too easy to slip into a craft store for back up," the mermaid mourned as the dog romped around the meadow happily.

"I'm pretty sure there's weekly rounds for supplies, since I keep getting dog food delivered to my room," Yuki pointed out with a giggle.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing in that castle that Drac doesn't know about, and he's never approved of my crafting hobbies. I wouldn't put it past him to cancel the order and tell me **'it was lost between everything else'** ," she mimicked with a sneer.

" _That was a little too accurate of an impression,"_ Baron concluded as both he and Thomas felt magic ripple between them.

Yuki could sense that another had joined in the watching, but couldn't do anything about it while her mother was patiently explaining the best way to approach a horse.

"If you let the horse know you're a friend, it will make riding a lot better for both of you," the mermaid explained, handing the girl an apple to feed the animal.

" _Did I miss anything?"_ a cheerful voice asked, making the lord fight back a groan.

" _ **I thought you were in charge of keeping everything under control in our world, Hilary."**_

" _Oh don't worry; Gerard's helping me with the books. Say, that cowl is_ _ **stylish**_ _!"_

Baron couldn't resist a growl. _**"The color is repulsive, and the yarn is of inferior quality!"**_

" _But look at how it folds over Yuki's head and shoulders! I wonder if you can persuade her to share the pattern."_

" _ **You've never even made a decent potholder!"**_

" _No, but I have access to people that can. I thought you were going to talk her into letting you join the outing."_

" _ **Enough, Hilary!"**_

"He forgot how to say 'please allow me to accompany you'," Thomas tattled quietly, fighting back a smirk at the upcoming sibling feud. They laughed at his and Renaldo's little spats, fair was fair.

" _Humbert!"_

" _ **Don't take that tone with me, young lady! The mermaid is more temperamental than she lets on."**_

" _Yes, how dare she not appreciate being told how to raise her child by someone she's only known for two and a half months?"_ Hilary griped into Thomas' mind, making him stifle a chuckle. _"If you're not going to befriend her, let me come to that world! I can make friends with anyone!"_

" _ **I will**_ **not** _ **allow Drac to find out about you and let him use you for leverage as well! I'm worried senseless about Yuki as it is."**_

" _But he doesn't have to know that a little portal suddenly found its way into Yuki's room,"_ she pleaded. _"Come now; she's my niece too, and I'd like to talk to the one raising her."_

" _ **Over my dead body! Haru is sly, and she has a history of using people to her advantage. She would eat you alive!"**_

"Please stop screaming," Toto moaned, holding a wing to his head. _'This would be a lot funnier if they weren't inside my head.'_

" _She's on bad terms with Drac; doesn't that make her worth one chance?!"_

" _ **The enemy of my enemy is not always a friend, Hilary!"**_

" _How would you know if you don't give her a chance?!"_

Thomas cawed loudly in pain, finally falling off the branch and landing on a bush. "Can't you two-"

"Is someone there?" the mermaid called out with a warning tone.

' _Drat it!'_ the crow panicked, not being able to right himself before Haru had jogged over.

Her large brown eyes turned flat but unsurprised at seeing the fallen bird.

"… Caw?" he tried weakly. _'At least those two have stopped bickering.'_

"Let me guess. Because I wouldn't let Baron guilt-trip me into staying where it was safe and boring, he sent you to play babysitter?" she asked him tiredly.

"Caw caw," Thomas answered, glad that he didn't have to actually answer such an obvious question.

She hummed as if she had understood his sounds as clear as a bell. "Well, I guess this is better than him 'mysteriously' taking his day off riding and happen upon us as if I wouldn't notice the coincidence."

" _Why_ _ **didn't**_ _you think of that?"_

" _ **Be silent, Hilary!"**_

"Let me help you," the mermaid sighed, leaning forward enough for the crow to grip one of her arms with his talons and use her free hand to brace his back until he was upright. "Better?"

"Caw!" Thomas answered, flying up in order to more comfortably sit on her shoulder. It was slimmer than Baron's, but manageable if she kept her movements slow and steady.

"At least _you_ don't belittle me in front of my child," the mermaid muttered softly, rubbing his back feathers while carefully walking back to Yuki, who by now was on the spotted horse's back. "It was just Toto- I mean Thomas. Shall we get back to your lesson?"

The kitten looked with distaste at the reins. "Sure, Mom. It just feels a little cruel to make them wear the bit."

Haru gave her an adoring smile while patting the horse's neck. "That's why you're gentle, Sweetie. Now flick the reins slightly and prod your feet here…"

The crow was pleased to find that everything Haru taught the girl would be too easy to use for riding the skies.

When the time came, of course.

" _She's not a bad riding instructor," Hilary approved._

" _ **Will you hush?!"**_

ooOoo

Hilary held the package tightly between her hands, forcing herself to press her furry fingers against the mirror. "Yuki… Yuki…" the tawny feline whispered until the surface shimmered and took on the reflection of her niece's room.

The girl rolled in her bed, but otherwise didn't react.

Olive-green eyes slit slightly, but closed before trying again. "Yuki, I hate waking you so early, but I want to talk to you before Haru leaves for work."

An unsatisfied moan escaped her lips as the kitten forced herself to sit up and start rubbing her eyes. "Who… who's there?" she yawned.

"Your Aunt Hilary, Precious. Look at your mirror."

Those familiar blue eyes snapped to attention as she gazed at the glass. " _Wow_ , I can't wait to learn that spell!" She quickly threw her quilts off in order to rush for a closer look at the older cat. After a while, she beamed at the tall feline. "You know, you look almost exactly like I pictured you, Aunt Hilary."

"I hope that's a good thing," the older female countered with a cheeky grin.

"You look amazing. What's up?" her niece asked while scooting a chair close to the mirror with herself still sitting in it.

Hilary cocked her head at the strange question. "The ceiling? At least I hope it's still up there."

The kitten giggled from the remark before trying again. "I meant 'what do you want to talk about'?"

"… Humbert will not be pleased when he finds out what I am up to, especially since he insisted that I keep my distance until the contract is fulfilled. But you know that I've been watching you and although my brother doesn't care for your cowl, I fancy it myself."

Her niece's grin took on a level of adoration. "Doesn't Mom do a good job? She had trouble talking me into not sleeping with it last night."

Hilary nodded, holding up the linen-wrapped package with one hand. "I would like her to make me one as well, if she would not be too proud. I am willing to compensate her for whatever she deems fair. I was initially hoping for a pattern, but I wouldn't be able to read her script and Humbert would not be pleased with me for distracting you with translation."

Yuki giggled in happiness. "I wouldn't mind, and I can guarantee Mom won't mind, either. You didn't start watching until after she said so, but Mom was wishing for more yarn yesterday before admitting that Drac hates it when she makes anything other than music or movies."

Her green eyes brightened happily. "So there's little bad to come of this! All right, are you ready to chip at your uncle's barrier?"

"Only if you talk me through it," Yuki insisted, standing up and placing a hand on the mirror.

"Good, touching the glass the first step. Now try to _feel_ the barrier between you and me. We don't want to break the barrier; just weasel it open a crack," the tabby explained. But the breath she took in for the rest of the process was unneeded.

Yuki closed her eyes, a slight echoing vibration in Hilary's blood saying that the girl was accessing her magic. She felt around the glass blindly for a second before _literally breaking her hand through the mirror!_ The glass constantly moved and rippled like a frozen pond's surface as a result!

Hilary yelped with surprise, since there were two more steps that the girl had just walked over. "No wonder Humbert is insisting you study so much! You're going to out shine everyone when you grow older!"

"The yarn?" Yuki reminded her through another laugh.

"Oh, right." Still in awe of the kitten, she placed the package in the girl's hand and stealing a warm squeeze out of it while she had the chance. "I can't wait until I get to hold you," the tawny feline told her wistfully.

Yuki took her hand back, the glass between them quickly becoming smooth once more. "So when are we going to meet for real? I'm really looking forward to having an aunt I'm going to see more than once."

Hilary had to steady her heart before answering. "… It's going to be a while yet, Precious. Humbert doesn't want Drac to find out about me."

"I'll pass that part onto Mom; she'll agree with him in a heartbeat. Ooh, look at this," the white hair cooed happily when she partially opened the package and rubbed the silvery-purple threads against her fingers. "She's going to love you for passing on yarn this nice!"

"It's from your rabbits and Humbert's silkworms," she informed with a grin. "But it may be a good idea not to pass _that_ onto her."

"Why not? She's going to find out sooner or later," the kitten answered before wrapping the yarn back into the linen.

Hilary instantly felt a stab of guilt. _'How am I supposed to tell her what's been decided?'_ "You'd best hurry before she leaves. She was just waking up when I checked on her before you."

"Right. See you when I can!" she bade, waving goodbye before hopping off the chair and out of the room with the newly awakened dog in happy pursuit.

The light orange feline loosened the connection, gripping her heart through her green bodice. How did she have the gall to ask for such a favor from the mermaid, _knowing_ what was to come?

"How is _Humbert_ going to tell her?"

xxXxx

A/N: Playlist for this chapter; Mean Green Mother From Outer Space from Little Shop of Horrors, What Makes You Different Makes You Beautiful by Backstreet Boys, and a rendition of Let It Go that you'll be getting a lot later.


	18. Courage

**Chapter Eighteen: Courage**

 _It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies…_

 _\- Professor Dumbledore, 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'_

 **xxXxx**

' _Careful, Harry. Not a sound.'_

 _The newly sixteen-year old brunette shouldered her worn brown back pack, which really only contained a few changes of clothes, a sewing kit, and the handful of dollars that had been bonuses for a job well done. It had been a miracle that she had managed to keep_ _ **that**_ _much money from anyone's notice._

 _Her stomach screamed at her for not buying food with that, but she held her mid drift tightly until the growling stopped._

'… _Okay. Now or never.' Taking a deep breath for courage, she opened the attic door in the floor and carefully stepping down the ladder to keep it from creaking._

 _It still made a few small sounds, making her blood race, but thankfully the house was as silent as it was dark._

 _Stepping lightly, Harry kept a hand on the wall to make sure she knew her position in the hallway. Her breath came slow, although she was ready to hyperventilate from terrible fear._

 _What if she was caught? Would she be able to run this time? She didn't bother questioning what would happen if something happened to keep her from meeting Louis; brutal beating, call to the school to say she was sick. That way her bruises would have time to heal before anyone saw her and she had even_ _ **more**_ _time to make this house 'perfect'._

 _No. Once she got out of here, she could run to her rescuer, and… then she would truly know what 'perfect' is._

 _Dang it, the stairs were creaking too much! She took them even slower, keeping her large brown eyes on the front door._

 _The sixteen-year old hadn't been allowed to use it in years. Vicky had a terrible fear of anyone realizing fully that there were two Jones girls, let alone one as homely as Harry._

 _But to use that door tonight… what was the right term for it? Justice? A final goodbye? In any case, it was the final barrier between her and happiness. Her mouth curled into a smile as the last stair step was reached and her hand reached out for that brass doorknob._

' _Come on, three more steps and it's happily ever after for me-'_

 _The kitchen light suddenly came on, making her turn around with a gasp._

 _ **He**_ _was next to the light, giving her a glare that she knew better than her own name. He was a medium height, a little shorter than herself. Never mind that he had always loomed large in her sub conscience. But he was much stronger than the beer belly implied. Certain parts of her arms and back throbbed painfully at the thought, reminding her of what had happened the day before._

 _Not even his horrible striped pajamas were enough to distract her from the familiar baseball bat he had in one hand._

' _Run. Run, you idiot!' She tried to make her hand grab the doorknob, but she was paralyzed with fear. In that moment, it was like her blood had been replaced with ice water._

" _Where do you think_ _ **you're**_ _going?" he snarled, his mouth twisting in an ugly sneer as he came closer, making her heart pound in rhythm with his footsteps._

 _Her body began trembling with terrible fear, and the only movement she could coax out of her legs was to press herself against the door in a vain attempt to keep space between them. 'No! No, I was so close!'_

" _I asked a question, girl._ _ **Where… are you going**_ _?" he growled even more dangerously, raising the bat to suggest he was getting close to beating the answer out of her._

"… _A-Away," was the only word that she could force out of her trembling lips. She flinched and closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitability of that bat. 'Why can't I ever run when I need to?'_

 _After a moment of silence, she could hear his heavy footsteps draw closer, making her whimper in fright._

 _But much to her surprise, the doorknob was heard turning, and she was scooted across the wood floor as her escape route was opened._

 _Her eyes flew open with surprise as she stepped away, but the demon of her every waking moment was holding the door wide open for her with a delighted smile that she could tell was completely genuine._

" _If you want to ruin your life, that's your decision, girl. But know this; once you take a single step out of my house, you're dead to me. Understand?"_

 _She gaped at him in complete shock. "… You'll let me go?" 'But who will keep house? Take care of the…_ _ **everything**_ _?!'_

 _Vicky wouldn't touch a vacuum or sponge if her life depended on it._

" _Leave or stay; it doesn't matter to me," her father responded indifferently, leaving her to go down the other hall and back to bed. "But whatever you decide, don't leave the door open like that. You weren't born in a barn, you know." Then he stopped, backtracked to the kitchen to shut off the light, and returned to his room without looking at her again._

 _Harry couldn't believe her own eyes. He didn't_ _ **care**_ _if she left or not? To the point of not even sticking around long enough to find out her decision?_

 _She should have been grateful that he didn't take that bat to her again, but there was a part of her that was still… disappointed._

 _Even if he had never cared about her, she had spent the time since her mother's death proving her value as a housekeeper if nothing else. He'd have to pay to make anyone else do what he made her do for free._

 _Which meant that she'd be able to keep her end of the bargain without a lot of hassle. Really, what was there to stay for if no one was going to miss her?_

 _Fighting back tears, she took one last look of the house she had called home for almost as far back as she could remember. But now that she had a chance to finally be happy, she shouldered her worn out back pack, took in another long deep breath…_

 _And closed the door after her as the grandfather clock struck the final chords of midnight._

xxXxx

' _Here we go again,'_ Baron couldn't help thinking as he approached the rendezvous point a little before the dawn broke. _'If that overly pampered rat would lower himself to occasionally sleeping in a tent, we wouldn't have to waste so much time transporting everyone and the equipment every day.'_

The pampered rat in question was raising his voice again, but was a lot more controlled than normal as the tall feline walked around the stable to where wagons were waiting… and promptly dropped his jaw in shock as he felt his sister's eyes already studying the scene.

"I'm telling you, it was lying outside my door this morning," Haru insisted tiredly, her lap covered with the remains of a familiar yarn skein as she swiftly wound it into a ball, already sitting in one of the wagons.

"Yarn doesn't just appear outside doorways, what if there's something wrong with it?" Drac tried to reason with her, but she wasn't all that interested.

"Doubtful. Butter is scratchier than this stuff. Even if something _was_ wrong with it, that would be my problem, not yours."

"Why do you even _bother_ with this pointless activity?!" Drac yelled at the top of his lungs, making the mermaid's hair sway slightly from the volume. "You can buy anything you please, why waste countless hours making something that you could have within minutes?!"

She spared him a glare before turning her eyes back to the growing ball in her hand. "I think I've wasted enough time trying to explain my motives to you. Short answer; **my** life, **my** 'countless hours', **my** decision. Now back off."

' _ **This is**_ **your** _ **doing!'**_ Baron was finally able to fume, sending the thought to his troublesome sister.

" _Say what you will. I am enjoying his discomfort,"_ Hilary replied with a smirk in her tone.

' _ **You do realize that I and anyone who isn't Haru will bear the brunt of his displeasure?'**_

" _I also know that he will not go too far with her around. He's still hoping to win her back, after all."_

Haru unintentionally interrupted the argument with one last point at a frustrated director. "Besides, it keeps me quiet and in a good mood until you've screamed enough to make everything perfect for Baron and I to do our scenes. If my needles bug you, try looking at something else."

" _If you wish to enjoy tea in my house, one must be accustomed to my needles. For if something happens that requires me to put them down, you had best not be the reason why."_

Baron felt a cold chill, knowing that wasn't Hilary speaking. Before he could silence his own memories, he couldn't help thinking that Haru and his mother would have bonded within seconds of meeting each other.

No, stop that! She is a mermaid, and mermaids have only ever had one goal in their minds! His mother was lucky that she never had to see her pride and joy subjected to the company of a water demon!

"Baron! You agree that knitting is too lowly for a lady, don't you?" Drac pleaded, oblivious to where the feline lord gained a goodly portion of his income.

Although he didn't wish to give Haru a reason to feel close to him, Baron felt this needed to be said. "Anyone that tries to separate a craftswoman, regardless of rank, from her needles, should feel lucky that said needles aren't driven into his neck. I find knitting to be stress-relieving, myself."

Heaven knows he needed more than a few rows every night after dealing with the rat, though he hadn't meant to admit that he and the mermaid had anything more in common than Yuki.

"Oh? What do you knit?" Haru asked, missing the completely flabbergasted look on her ex-suitor's face.

"Scarves, mostly. I like my knitting simple. Have you decided what to do with that?" he asked casually while boarding a different wagon to keep their distance. _'Please nothing demeaning! That's my family's yarn!'_

She nodded with a cheerful smile. "I think I'll give the cowl pattern another go. I'll worry about what to do with it later."

Baron cocked his head at her. "That yarn is far more favorable than the last one. Is the color not to your liking?"

" _She's making it for me!"_ Hilary protested, making her brother fight to keep his face calm and indifferent.

He knew his sister could be impulsive, but this was ridiculous!

"I enjoy my craft more when the final product goes to someone else. Drac could have told you that," Haru finished with a glare at the director who finally got frustrated enough to storm off to a different wagon himself and ordering the crew away from the previous conversation.

' _That certainly explains the overly complicated quilt he showed me.'_

ooOoo

This should have been the easiest job in the world. Not that it wasn't important, mind, but it was definitely quieter than working the quarry or helping Baron win another tournament.

Toby nearly hopped onto the couch, the retrieved ball in his mouth as he panted excitedly. Thankful for a thick glove to avoid dog drool, Renaldo pulled the bouncing sphere loose and tossed it again, grateful for this much amusement as the little devil nearly fell over himself off the couch to retrieve it again. The huge feline had never been one for books himself, or he'd be almost as well-read as _Baron_ by now.

Speaking of books, the little lady was studying hard as usual at her little desk, her blue eyes lighting up just the way her mother's did when she was able to be with her rabbits. Nothing could break that level of concentration as she soaked in the contents of some worn red book-

Renaldo's ear twitched as a pair of footsteps stormed through the hall, making him automatically stand up in case it meant trouble.

No. The footsteps stopped beyond Yuki's room, and hurriedly unlocked a door before slamming it shut.

Yuki jumped as if it had been thunder. "What was that?"

The disguised feline walked over enough to open the door and sniff the air. "Haru, from the smell. A little odd that she's back from filming so early." _'Maybe Baron's coming soon as well.'_

Before he knew it, his charge had wiggled around his girth out the doorway in order to approach her adoptive mother's door and knock on it gently.

" **I am not talking to you anymore, Baron**!" the brown hair shouted, violently throwing stuff around the room while doing something else.

Babysitter and child gave each other a worried look.

"Um, Mom? It's me," her child informed her. "Is something wrong?"

"… Just give me a second," the older female called out, finishing the violent sounds quickly before opening her door; already in this world's version of normal clothes while throwing on a light jacket. She stole a deep hug out of her daughter before speaking again.

Both felines could feel eyes following her, but Renaldo felt safe in assuming that it was Hilary. But why would she bother watching Haru instead of her brother?

"Sweetheart, as much as I'd love some time with you, I have some aggression to blow off before it hurts someone," she apologized before tying her abnormally long head fur back in the hairstyle that made it look like she had a tail on the back of her head.

"Can't I come, Mom?" she pled.

"She said no, little lady-" Renaldo tried to answer while pulling on the girl's shoulder, but the adoptive mother wasted no time flicking her finger against his wrist.

"I haven't said either way yet, _Renaldo_ ," the older female snarled, making the two stare in shock.

'… _Since when does she use my real name?'_

Something had happened. Not even seeing a rejected suitor again had made her this angry.

But that didn't stop her eyes from turning softer when addressing her child. "I'm just going to do some running. If you change out of that cute dress so that it doesn't get ruined, you and Toby can come. Deal?"

"Deal!" Yuki agreed, sneaking a kiss to the mermaid's cheek before running back to her room, the hound still shadowing her every step.

It was only at that gesture that the actress allowed herself to relax a little, her worshipful eyes not leaving the girl until the bedroom door was closed.

"I'm not a fan of running; mind if I-" the body guard tried to ask before getting interrupted.

"Take the rest of the day off? Of course not, Renaldo. Yuki and I will grab a bite from the kitchens when we get back, so please feel free to enjoy yourself."

His blood ran as cold as death. Haru usually gave him permission to do as he pleased whenever she was able to sneak more than a few minutes with the little lady, but the way she said it this time was… off from her usually sunny disposition.

Her smile, usually warm as if greeting a friend, was now strained enough to make him worry if her face was close to ripping, and her brown eyes were cold now that they were focused on him. Even the words from her mouth sounded chilly.

… Did it finally happen?

"You called me by my real name," he decided to point out first.

Her smile became that much more strained. "Yes, my apologies for confusing you with someone completely different from yourself. It really was rude of me to subconsciously try to make you live up to standards that were set down by someone else. You are not the only one I have done this to, but I will try to suppress it from now on."

Okay, the confrontation must have been even worse than anyone was anticipating. Haru had _**never**_ acted this formal in the three months since meeting her, and the sharpness of her tone could rival any sword.

He could feel the magic shifting in the air, almost certainly signaling that the lord was watching Haru as well, but why? Was Drac putting him up to it again? Was Drac part of whatever had occurred?

"Did something happen between you and Baron?" Renaldo asked flat out, fairly certain that a transparent denial or agreeing growl was all the answer he could hope for.

She slowly crossed her arms at him while giving a glare that every parent seemed to master, letting the fake smile slide off her features. "Most certainly not. In fact, I just finished telling him that **nothing's** going to happen, no longer how long close-minded people like you and he decide on my behalf that I'm an evil seductress despite the complete lack of any evidence save the word of someone you _had_ to have figured out by now is nothing but a manipulative rat. Credit me with a **little** propriety; he's either young enough to be my son or close enough for it to still count!" she snapped at the disguised cat until after he had jumped back in surprise. "By the way, thank you _**so**_ much for telling me that I remind Baron of someone he'd rather forget. I _**truly**_ appreciate small courtesies like that," she snarled, making it more than clear why she was angry with him, too.

Renaldo _definitely_ didn't care for this harsher version of Haru! If he still had fur, every hair would be standing on end! He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck attempt it anyway.

"But please. Don't let my bad mood ruin the rest of _your_ day. I hate being the reason anyone else ends the day on a sour note."

That last sentence sounded a little less bitter and a little more… dare he think it?

 _Self-loathing._ Her eyes were certainly matching up, now that they were staring at a wall instead of the large 'man'.

… But wasn't there proof that Drac was telling the truth about Haru's past affairs? Baron said he'd seen it for himself.

The bedroom door opened, quickly revealing an ecstatic Yuki in human clothes and an equally happy Toby back on his leash. "It's been _way_ too long since we've gone running!"

"I couldn't agree more," the brown hair stated, forcing the bad mood away for now, accepting the girl's offered hand with a smile that was much less forced than before. "Enjoy your evening off, Renaldo."

"Hey, I didn't have to correct you!" Yuki finally noticed as they walked down the hall toward the grand staircase.

"What can I say, sometimes I'm a slow learner," her adoptive mother brushed off, pulling the girl slightly closer so that they could each hug with an arm while walking.

The disguised cat finally shook off his stupor and started running for his friend's room. "I _have_ to hear how this happened!" _'Just when 'Muta' was starting to grow on me!'_

ooOoo

" _Can we ride down the banister again, Mom?" Yuki asked hopefully_ as Hilary watched through the glass in her room, trying to keep a grip on her own temper.

" _If you would like. But I don't really feel up to it right now," the brown hair answered with none of her usual enthusiasm._

 _The sweet little lady gave her a worried look but chose to tighten her grip on the mermaid's waist as they eventually made their way down the stairs and out of the castle._

That sour look didn't suit Haru at all, Hilary decided. Although the tawny maiden had initially been interested in solely checking in on her niece when this mess began, there was a pleasant lure to watching the adoptive mother. Every time she had seen the brown hair, there was always a gentle smile, or at least polite indifference before she made a fool out of anyone that stepped too far out of line, even Hilary's beloved older brother or the one that had enslaved him.

But this was a side to the mermaid that hadn't been so much as glimpsed at until Humbert's rather callous remark.

" **Perhaps you should not watch, Hilary."**

"Perhaps _you_ could remember some of that courtesy you've always held so dear," she snapped back at her brother, not interested in his counsel for once.

" **I am certain nothing of import is going to happen."**

"So why are _you_ watching?"

" **I can intervene if needed, you can't."**

She couldn't resist a rebellious growl at the tom. "Don't you think you've done enough of that for today? I thought it was strange for you to have been _that_ rude, but I think she has your thoughts on paper!"

" **Hilary!"**

"Humbert! You've been locking me out more than enough as it is! I'm not leaving!"

 _By now, Haru and Yuki had walked a distance away from the castle, but the older woman didn't seem to have a set course in mind for their run. The younger one didn't take much note of it, merely guiding her adoptive mother down the usual trail she and Renaldo used for walking her little beast. She finally noticed that both von Gikkingens were watching them now, if her side glare was being interpreted correctly._

 _The little beast in question was hopping like one of the family rabbits through the sand while barking, but since neither girl seemed worried, one could only assume that they were happy barks._

"Say something, Haru. Spill out your thoughts, you are alone with your daughter for all you know!" Hilary yelled in frustration while forcing herself not to rap on the glass. "You always have something to say, even if it is humorous! _Especially_ if it's humorous!"

 _After a while, the brown hair finally noticed that they were walking beside the ocean, making her scowl at the distant sunset for several long silent minutes._

"Talk! About! What! You're! Thinking!" Hilary screamed at the glass, trying to _will_ the mermaid into sharing what was on her mind.

"Is something wrong, my lady?" her favorite maid called into the room while opening the door slightly.

Hilary could only scoff. "No, I'm fine, you can't help! I'll call you when I need you, Julia!"

" **On second thought, hearing you lose your composure just may be what I need at the moment."** He only sounded slightly amused while saying so.

If he had been in her bedroom, she would have wheeled around on him in disgust. "Oh, you think I'm interested in making you feel better right after finding out that you've been using a near stranger to-"

" _Is something wrong, Mom?"_

The two siblings immediately put their feud on hold for now.

 _Haru was still scowling at the sunset, as if the sight was an attempted nightmare instead of a dream. "… Sorry, Sweetness, did you say something?" she eventually managed to say, never taking her gaze off the ocean._

 _Yuki crossed her arms with a glare, keeping a grip on Toby's leash. "You're quiet. We both know that means you're upset about something."_

" _It's nothing for you to worry about, Snow Angel. I've already fixed it," Haru insisted, at last letting the scowl fall off her face until only a terrible self-loathing was left._

Hilary felt her blood grow cold at such a look. Her brother had worn one much like it when Louise had ruined his faith in ever finding true happiness. In fact, it was a look that was never really gone for long, despite all attempts to the contrary. _'Well, if she had been telling the truth-'_

" _If it's already fixed, then why are you being so quiet? Come on, Mom, you know you can trust me," their niece coaxed as the mermaid suddenly ran forward to a large rock in order to balance herself on it._

 _And start undressing herself?!_

Hilary could hear her brother make a strangled cry at the impropriety. Hmm, he must have wanted to know what she wanted to say quite a lot to endure this! It was a little more proper for Hilary as a fellow female, but her brother that won't even look at potential mates?!

" _Mom! Um, Uncle Humbert says it's improper to be without shoes, especially in public," the girl tried to reason with a guilty smile as the second shoe and sock came off to rest beside the large rock._

" _Does he now? I don't see anyone around. Want to know what I think of his opinion at the moment?" Haru asked with a naughty smirk, reach for the hem of one pant leg._

Hilary burst out into hysterical laughter as Humbert swiftly cut off his surveillance before witnessing the mermaid roll up the pant leg to just below her kneecap and doing the same to the other leg.

There were long white scars along the pale flesh of her lower limbs. The transformation process must have been more painful than the feline woman was willing to think about, since there were examples of such marks all over the mermaid's body. Hilary hadn't _meant_ to see everything when Haru had changed clothes, but she had been too shocked to turn away until the scars were covered once again.

 _Yuki must have sensed that her uncle was no longer watching, because she relaxed some and was able to giggle at the unseen reaction. "How scandalous."_

" _Baron can live with it. Especially since he isn't here to breathe down my neck." Haru began marching to the water's edge, giving a loud startled gasp as the salt water crashed onto her lower limbs and soaking her rolled-up pants._

Despite herself, Hilary leaned closer to the mirror for a better look, hardly waiting to see what would happen next. "Well? Go ahead and change back into your true form," she encouraged, since the tawny maiden had been hoping to see this since hearing that her brother was going to meet a genuine **mermaid**.

 _Haru steadied her breath, taking in and out long slow measures of air as the anger seemed to finally be washed off her features, showing to only those present just how sad she was._

 _Beneath the waves, her bare feet disappointingly stayed exactly the same._

" _I forgot how_ _ **good**_ _fresh salt water feels on aching feet," the brown hair sighed dreamily._

Hilary banged her head on the mirror with a howl of frustration, but quickly regretted it when the surface shattered slightly and could only show a broken version of her own reflection.

Biting back a word that Humbert used to spank her for speaking, she quickly rummaged through her vanity until producing a silver hand mirror of her mother's, holding her aching head with her free hand. "Show me my niece and her adoptive mother!" she commanded, making the surface cloud with green smoke before filling with Yuki tugging on Haru's arm as if the kitten didn't notice her own pants getting soaked from the salty waves.

" _Mom? Did you and Baron have a fight?" she asked, finally getting to the point._

 _The older woman's jaw tightened angrily as she swept the kitten off her feet and waded back to shore. "A fight would imply that both sides have strong points," she managed to hiss between her teeth. "All his lordship managed to do is prove just how little he knows about me. Don't worry, I fixed it enough to prove my point."_

"In terms clearer than crystal," Hilary muttered under her breath.

 _Yuki didn't like that answer at all. As soon as her mother set her down, the kitten snatched her mother's shoes away with the socks rolled into them, keeping the items at hands' length. "Mom. If you're this upset, it's not fixed. Now talk to me."_

"Please?" her aunt begged tiredly.

" _Yuki, I_ _ **refuse**_ _to drag you into this! I'm upset because I… am reflecting on things, okay?! I'm forty-five, and I haven't exactly had a boring life! I've got a lot to reflect on!" she admitted while waving her arms in the air for emphasis._

" _Then reflect on me, for peanut butter's sake!" her daughter snapped, forcefully dragging her mother to the rock again, making her sit down before crawling onto her lap, letting Toby run free among the shallower waves for now. "There, now I have you pinned. You're not moving until you start talking."_

Hilary had to fight not to be distracted with how adorable this picture made. Odd pair or not, any idiot could see the love between the two.

 _Haru lost all resistance at that point, clinging to Yuki as a drunkard would hold onto that last bottle. She was chewing her lower lip, fighting back tears before a whisper was heard._

" _Um, Yuki? If I ask something, will you give me an honest answer?"_

 _Her child laughed. "You know I can't lie."_

" _Yuki." There was a steady pleading to the tone, which made the girl in question roll her eyes in a gently fond gesture._

" _Fine, I'll the truth. What's up?"_

 _Haru looked away shamefully. "… Let's say I wasn't your mother," she began, speaking slowly as if every word was agony. "Say we were the same age, and you didn't feel like you owed me a thing. If there was absolutely nothing holding us together…"_

 _Yuki visibly shuddered at the idea._

"… _would you have been my friend?"_

 _Her little mouth dropped open in shock, as did her aunt's._

Hilary couldn't believe that a question like _that_ was distracting her at a time like this!

" _What kind of hare-brained question is_ _ **that**_ _?!" Yuki yelled at the top of her lungs, pushing on her mother's chest enough to lock eyes with her. "That's even more ridiculous than the one about oranges!"_

 _The sadness in Haru's eyes made it plain that the question wasn't another joke. "Then answer me."_

 _Yuki huffed in annoyance. "Mom, you're the kindest, bravest, most amazing person I'll ever meet!_ _ **You**_ _were the first one not to see me as a freak!_ _ **You**_ _took me in when you didn't have to!_ _ **You**_ _made sure I could speak before I was ready to be heard!"_

"What?" Hilary couldn't help asking, since that last one didn't make any sense.

" _From the moment we met, you made me feel like I was worth worlds! If I ever do get a friend my age that's like you, I won't be able to let go! Besides, I thought we were besties anyway." The girl possessively wrapped her arms around the woman's neck. "Now are we going to get the real issue at hand?"_

 _Haru was weeping at such kind words, holding the child tightly once more. "That… that_ _ **is**_ _the issue, Sweetness."_

The tawny maiden rubbed at her olive-green eyes with a moan. "How does my brother thinking you are like Louise have anything to do with whether or not your daughter would be friends?!"

" _Okay, Mom. Enough's enough. Start talking lines instead of circles."_

 _The brown hair took in a few long deep breaths before speaking again. "It's… just that… I grew up without friends. I've told you that."_

 _Yuki nodded in confirmation. "Well, sure. If you had anyone worth staying for in that cold town, you'd have told Louis to hit the road without you."_

That got Hilary's attention. "She _told_ her about running off with a tom?"

 _Haru kept talking, sounding even more depressed than before. "I've never been good at making friends. Before running off, I was too busy to hang out, but there wasn't anyone I was on good terms with enough to really speak to. I'm not going to dwell on the devil pit that town was; I've already told you plenty."_

" _But you got friends later, so it's okay-" the child tried to reason, but her mother didn't have the patience for that._

" _Yuki, if you want me to talk, then listen! Before or after Dad discovered me, making friends was near impossible! I didn't have anything in common with anyone. They were all into the business to get rich and live like royalty; I only got in because Dad's very persuasive and I wound up loving the work!"_

Dad? But didn't she just say that she left her family?

" _Oh, there were a_ _ **ton**_ _of people that were interested in befriending me after I turned into a household name, but when I wouldn't go to party clubs after finding out how loud they are or reject all dates after Louis and host parties without alcohol or anything that a child wouldn't want to see, I'd get called all sorts of awful things and then left alone when I wouldn't change into them!"_

 _Her mother gave her a weak, tired smile. "I know I put up a good face, but... it really does hurt when complete strangers have a higher opinion of me than the people that have a chance to get to know me. I've actually disappointed fans for being kind of boring in person."_

 _Her daughter immediately took offence at that statement. "You're not boring, you're calming! With how unpredictable life was before we met, I needed someone steady as a rock. I wish you'd stop insulting yourself."_

 _Haru stared at the girl, the little color in her cheeks draining before holding the girl close to lightly tap on her head. "Dad? If you're possessing my daughter, you can knock it off. I miss you, but Yuki does a pretty good job of parroting you without help."_

 _Yuki pouted while waving away the distracting hand. "Mom. Quit avoiding the issue. Something happened between you and Uncle Humbert. Tell me what it is."_

Hilary's stomach clenched at her brother's actions, but didn't dare put the mirror down.

 _Haru looked down as she unthinkingly brushed a hand over her daughter's hair. "… I took it for granted that Drac had told Baron about me before coming to fetch us. I was pretty sure that he emphasized the bad things and made it sound like I was a gold-digging man-eater to encourage Baron not to get too close to me since Drac is threatened by any male that's around more than he is. I figured that all I had to do was respect Baron's space until he figured out I wasn't going to jump him. Then we could have a nice civilized talk and… why did I think that would work?" the brown hair mourned. "I've never been good at making friends, why should that have changed now? Especially with someone that's so transparently an actual noble?"_

" _Hey, you've got a title!" Yuki protested._

A tawny head jerked upwards in surprise.

" _Only because the queen of Mondorra was sneaky and persistent! But back to Baron… he made one rude comment too many after we got back from filming."_

Oh dear, here it comes.

" _What was it?" the little kitten nudged._

" _Not important, but it was enough to make me finally ask him what his beef was against me after three months of barely taking any of his fight bait. … Let's just say I'm less than impressed with him right now."_

 _Yuki wasn't about to give up, tugging on her mother's sleeve with her insistence. "What did he say, Mom? And don't you dare say it's unimportant."_

" _Fine. It was frivolous and-"_

" _MOM!"_

 _Haru growled deep in her throat, but knew when she was backed into a corner. "Baron… his word choice about how classless I was for running off with Louis made it clear that… someone he cared about once did that to him."_

 _Yuki's mouth dropped open in surprise, the little color in her own cheeks draining._

 _Needing more affection, Haru hoisted her child back onto her lap for more cuddling as Toby continued playing in the waves and sand. "That's just between us, Sweetie. But if he thought he had an honest chance with that other girl, that's pretty much everything I need to assure me that our circumstances were night and day, and I gave him enough details to think about."_

"For all of us to think about, for certain," Hilary muttered under her breath.

 _The mermaid wrapped her child up in a tighter embrace. "So I've just been steaming about being used as a scratching post for someone else's sin and being jealous that the other girl had someone that was angry at her for leaving. I'd have given an_ _ **arm**_ _for one person in that town to have missed me at least enough to try a search after I disappeared. Or recognized me with longer hair and a dress without a reporter beating into their heads that I was their town's old designated loser, that would have been nice."_

" _Mom… it was different. I knew about her; it was completely different!" Yuki choked as horrified tears streamed down her face. "They only gave up the search for her after nine years! If I had known that's why he hates it when I bring you up, I would have told Baron it was different_ _ **months**_ _ago!"_

 _That mournful face turned a little stern. "Those things are confidential, Yuki."_

" _Not the public knowledge ones! Don't worry, I'll have a talk with him," she tried to assure, but her mother released her enough to wave a finger in a no-nonsense manner._

" _Oh no you don't. You are to stay out of this, am I clear?"_

" _But Mom-"_

" _No buts, young lady. This is between me and him. Right now, the best thing to do is… let him think for a while."_

 _Her daughter gave an exasperated growl of her own. "Why don't you just challenge him to a duel and be done with it! Even if you lose, he'll still get the point!"_

" _No. Yuki, if I wanted Baron's fear, or Renaldo's, I'd have taken it by now. I want respect, and beating the snot out of certain snobs, no matter how much stress that would relieve, is counter-productive of my plan."_

" _So what is the plan?" Yuki asked, not knowing that her aunt was asking the same thing with her._

" _Postponed until Baron grows up."_

xxXxx

A/N: Sorry to interrupt the regularly scheduled story, but I will not be updating a chapter in two weeks. I'm participating in the CR Birthday Bash that's being hosted by Rowena Bensel, so there will be a week's worth of one-shots instead. These will not count as my #50 special, even if they will hold that number for now.

To anyone that would like to participate, the rules can be found on Rowena Bensel's Tumblr page under the fan blog of ro-visiting-the-bureau. She will be delighted to answer any further questions.

Here's hoping that everyone enjoys the flood to come!


	19. Stand Up

**Chapter Nineteen: Stand Up**

… _But a great deal more to stand up to your friends._

 _\- Professor Dumbledore, 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'_

 **xxXxx**

 _James growled in frustration. "Get out. Just… get out."_

 _The young girl in front of him tried to bite back her sobs, but he still saw some tears before she ran out of the room._

 _His eye-candy secretary gave him a nervous smile while looking over her clipboard. "That's it for now. I should have some more girls lined up by tomorrow."_

 _No one knew better than a director just how thankless replacing an actor for a sequel was in the long run. He got off lucky that it had been a few years since he directed the first one, so getting someone new wouldn't be as noticeable…_

 _If he could just find the right girl for the part. Someone that looked like a slightly older version of the first actress without the 'I turned into a druggie' look. Someone that could be happy with being a supporting character but still hold her own against her subplot._

 _But most importantly, she had to have just the right voice._

" _Why don't we break for lunch?" the red-haired secretary asked with a flirty smile, but he just wasn't in the mood for her entertainment today._

 _James dismissively nudged the current papers into the trash can beside his desk. "Actually, I'd rather just enjoy some fresh air. Why don't you take the rest of today off, since there's nothing else to be done for now?"_

 _She blanched, since he rarely turned her down, but still smiled and nearly bowed her way out of the sterile interviewing room._

 _Picking up his briefcase, James stood up to his impressive full height and strode out of his building. A wave of the hand dismissed his unusually attractive driver from opening the door to his limousine when he walked past the vehicle and out the gates guarding his office from the riffraff outside._

' _Just look at me. Walking down a sidewalk like a_ _ **commoner**_ _. Oh, the things Father would say to me if I ever spoke to him.' He gave a harsh laugh while pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up._

 _He barely paid attention to where his feet led, since all of his thoughts were centered on his rather pressing problem. 'I could literally start filming tomorrow if I could find just the right Tanya. It's not like I wrote her to be the most complicated character; if anything, she's a cookie-cutout of a character as basic as hero, damsel, and villain. For Pete's sake, she_ _ **is**_ _just a damsel! Why is that such a task for me?' He puffed on his cigarette thoughtfully._

 _On the off-chance the walk was going to prove useful, he looked up and around at his surroundings._

 _Every person here seemed to be a basic cookie character as well. Absolutely nothing remarkable about any of them._

 _James scowled with the realization. 'What is the matter with this town?!' Usually there are more than enough would-be stars willing to become whatever a director needed… so why couldn't he find one measly side character that was plain enough to compliment her precedent yet had the spark to capture hearts? Just a damsel wasn't enough; the struggle over her wouldn't be believable without that special spark._

 _His stomach rumbled slightly, so he entered the first diner he came across, grinding his cigarette butt into the pavement as he left the sidewalk._

 _Even this place was a little too basic, if perhaps a little empty. One tackily-dressed waitress beamed at him and made sure he had the best seat in the house before leaving him with a menu. Her fake smile was all James needed to assure him that she was wrong as well._

 _He stared at the generic paper, wishing that something would jump out at him other than the lingering stench of burnt hamburgers and cheap chocolate milkshakes. He could hear a radio playing softly in the kitchen but paid it no heed._

… _Until he heard a sweet voice harmonizing with 'Over the Rainbow'._

 _Snapping out of his stupor, the director got out of his seat swiftly enough to leave a bruise on his shin, but the man couldn't pay the pain any mind as he grabbed his briefcase._

" _Are you all right, sir?" the waitress asked, but swiftly shut her mouth when he shoved a hundred-dollar bill into her fingers._

" _Take a seat and don't interfere," he ordered without giving her a second glance._

 _The red head sat down as obediently as a dog, shoving the money into her shirt as James let himself behind the counter and stealthily opened the door to the kitchen, which was a lot cleaner than he was expecting._

 _The harmonizing girl in question had her back to him, vigorously scrubbing a pan into clean submission as she kept her voice sweet and perfect to the music. But she was being quieter than he would have liked._

" _ **Someday, I'll wish upon a star**_

" _ **And wake up where the clouds**_

" _ **Are far behind me.**_

" _ **And troubles melt like lemon drops**_

" _ **Way above the chimney tops,**_

" _ **That's where you'll find me**_ _," the young lady crooned as if she couldn't wait for that day to come as James let the kitchen door fall shut behind him and come a little closer._

 _Even though most of her energy was devoted to washing dishes, she was still swaying from one foot to the other as if repressing the need to dance. The gleaming artistic pile of clean dishes on the counter spoke loud and clear that she was one who took her work seriously. Her clothes were plain and patched, almost as if she were in costume for the role if one ignored that she was in pants instead of a skirt. Or the thick rubber gloves and plastic apron protecting her from the soapy water._

' _Her voice is just right,' James thought with glee, also taking note of her straight brown hair, up in a pony-tail just like Tanya's would be. A simple trim to just below the shoulder blades would put it at the needed length. Correct height, correct build… but what of her face?_

 _He tried politely coughing, but she didn't hear him. She just rinsed the frying pan in her hands and shook the excess water off._

" _ **If happy little blue birds fly**_

" _ **Beyond the rainbow, why,**_

" _ **Oh why can't… I**_ _?" she seemed to ask more than sing before giving a heavy sigh._

 _Just in case she suffered from nerves, he waited until after the girl had set that large pan down before turning off the little radio further down the freshly scrubbed counter._

 _She immediately snapped to attention, turning around in a heartbeat with an apology on her lips. "Sorry, I'll keep the noise do…"_

 _That sweet voice drifted off as the biggest pair of doe brown eyes James had ever seen locked on him, and her mouth hung open a little as an embarrassed flush turned her tanned cheeks red._

 _It was a good face, the director had no time concluding. A simple but pleasing face that had no guile. All it needed to be beautiful was a little make-up, exactly as he hoped._

 _This was his Tanya, heart and soul. The most she could possibly need are acting lessons and a few music ones to improve her tone slightly._

 _Since the girl was too stunned to say anything, he gave her a gentlemanly bow, wishing that the setting was better than a greasy diner's kitchen. "Actually, Miss, I am hoping you won't 'keep it down'. You have quite the lovely voice."_

 _The poor child's blush intensified as she almost comically covered her mouth with rubber-gloved hands._

 _James waited patiently for her to reply, still smiling as gently as he could. 'Careful, now. She's as nervous as a hen in a fox cave.'_

 _Those beautiful brown eyes turned to the ground before she was able to make words come out, but it was clear that she had noticed his fine suit. "Th-Thank you, sir," she whispered while reaching behind her to turn off the running water. "… Were you hungry? The chef is on a smoke break if you want me to go get him."_

 _His own eyes did not deviate from her features, almost as if looking at her was a new addiction. "Not precisely, young-"_

" _Harry?! You better have finished those dishes if the water's off!" a corpulent fellow bellowed as he marched into the kitchen from the back door, indeed smelling of cigarettes and wearing a filthy apron._

 _The young brunette flinched and withdrew like a mouse, which was all the incentive James needed to quickly maneuver himself between the girl and the diner's chef with a glare at the latter._

 _The greasy-looking man only glared back at him. "And what are_ _ **you**_ _doing in my kitchen?! If you're not here to eat, get out before I throw you out!"_

 _An amused smile crossed James' lips before answering the peasant. "Believe me, I now have zero interest in being here. But if I were you, I would get a new dish washer and a more agreeable disposition. As of today, you are in desperate need of both."_

 _Not bothering to see the infuriated reaction, he then turned to the girl, whose eyes only seemed to get wider with disbelief. "Harry, is it?" 'Such an unfitting name for a lovely girl like this. Short for Harriet, perhaps?'_

 _She nodded, once again struck speechless by his words as he quickly introduced himself._

" _I see no point in beating around the bush, Miss Harry. If you are interested in making more than minimum wage and changing occupations, I have an opening that I now believe was tailor-made for you. I can promise you without hesitation that you will find the work much more enjoyable than anything this diner has to offer you."_

 _Harry bit her lip, looking around the tiny diner and at the cook that had doubtlessly been ruder to her in private if he had no problem with witnesses. Slowly, she looked up at James, just a little less afraid of him. "What… kind of opening?" she asked while pulling off the ugly yellow gloves._

 _James grinned, wrapping a huge arm around her tiny shoulders to escort her out of the kitchen and out of the empty diner while the waitress stared in open-mouthed shock. "How do you feel about being a big sister to a preteen boy that can't stay out of trouble?"_

 _She closed her eyes in bliss as he began steering her back to the sidewalk so he could take her to his office. "That sounds like a dream come true."_

… _James was wrong. The only thing Harry needed to be beautiful was her smile._

xxXxx

Yuki made sure her displeasure was clear when she opened her door the following morning. Her uncle was expecting a little friction to be sure, but the white-haired girl had taken special pains to make it obvious that she wasn't thrilled with his conduct.

She was in human clothes, with the cowl from her mother around her shoulders like a war banner. Her feet were indecently bare. Even closing his eyes and turning away wasn't enough to mask Yuki's glare from his senses.

"You might as well take breakfast back today. I don't think I have an appetite this morning," she informed him, only keeping the door open a few inches instead of giving permission for him to enter.

His grip tightened on the silver tray. "Yuki… it's not that… there are things-"

"See you after you apologize to Mom." She slammed the door almost on his nose.

He growled with displeasure but knocked again. "I thought she told you to stay out of our disagreement."

She answered that with a disgusted scoff. "What disagreement? You're punishing her for something she didn't do."

"But she **did** do it!" he justified, even as he tried to block out the… bits of information that Haru had dropped on him like wet cement bags.

As expected, Yuki had a comeback ready. "Because she would have wound up dead, on the streets, or in jail if she didn't run off with Louis! What would have happened to Louise if she didn't run? Just marriage."

Baron's eyes narrowed at the sturdy wood, making it briefly blink out of existence. Yuki gasped in surprise as her tall uncle quickly crossed the barrier before the door rematerialized behind him.

"This is hardly a discussion to speak through wood, young lady," he informed her, making the tray in his hands disappear before showing up on the table as usual.

Toby looked up from his place at the foot of the bed, hopping off to bark happily at the cat, but the feline waited to finish setting breakfast before kneeling down to scratch the pup's ears.

His owner glared at the feline while folding her arms. "You know, I was relieved when you said you weren't going to take out on me what my first mother did. But now I want you to."

"Don't be ridiculous," he huffed, still scratching hound's ears. "It wasn't your fault, and I don't believe in making children pay for parents' transgressions."

"Then Mom should be off your list for both reasons. You can't deny that she has the heart of a child."

Baron closed his eyes and forced himself to take a few calming breaths before answering. "That is possibly the one thing I can't refute about her, Yuki. But having the heart of a child and being one are two different things."

Yuki hissed at his stubbornness, now placing her hands on her hips as if disciplining Toby. "It should still count! Mom's never been interested in hurting you, she's been making excuses for how rude you've been since day one. Would it kill you to hear her out just once?"

"She is a _liar_ , Yuki! Drac made sure I knew just how many trophies she has for being one of the best liars on this world! Surely you can't be blind to that!" he demanded of her, but all he got for his efforts were an agreeing shrug.

"Of course not. She has thirteen Oscars and twenty-six Grammys, though the Grammys are for her music and there are some other awards scattered into all that like an Emmy for a TV show she hasn't let me watch yet. She says she had a lot more nominations than trophies but doesn't mind losing to other people since she was starting to run out of shelf space in her treasure- I mean souvenir- room when she retired for me." Then she flat out giggled at the thought of her favorite playground. "She was kind of running out of space in there, _period_."

Baron covered his face with a gloved hand while groaning. "Yet this fact does not worry you on how easy it would be for her to deceive me?"

Yuki couldn't fight the urge to roll her eyes. "If you're that worried, I'll stand in a corner to keep her in check."

"Oh, I suppose your mere presence can dissuade her from straying from the truth," he tried to assume, fighting back a smile of amusement.

"It always has before when lying wasn't necessary. It doesn't hurt that I'm a lie-detector."

That amusement immediately slipped off as his eyes went wide with shock.

"It's true," the girl defended while crossing her arms with a pout. "Mom knows I am. Heck, she's the reason I figured out why certain people made my head pound like a drum every time they opened their mouths. But will that satisfy you? If I stand in a corner, I mean. I doubt Mom has anything to say to you that she'd hesitate to say in front of me."

"… Did you just say that you're a truth seer?" he asked in a hushed tone, as if she had spoken of having cancer.

Yuki cocked her head at the dramatic change in his attitude. "If all that means is that I always know when people lie, exaggerate, or use metaphors, then yes. I'm a truth seer. Now can we- Uncle Humbert!" she cried out as he staggered against the table and sent their breakfast crashing onto the carpet.

Toby barked happily before helping himself to the unexpected feast, wagging his little tail in sheer delight.

The tawny cat sat in the mess, not noticing how tea was seeping through one of his pant legs as he continued to stare at his little niece. "… Can you lie? Lie to me right now!"

Yuki blinked at him, but still tried to think of something. Her mouth eventually opened, but no sound issued from her throat.

Eventually, she had to give up. "… Sorry, this is new for me. Mom's usually the one that lies for me so people didn't get suspicious when we were in hiding. Since I didn't talk much to strangers before all this, I never needed to hide anything worse than the fact that Marie is my middle name instead of my first one."

That only seemed to confirm Baron's fears. When he was finally able to speak, it was as if he was speaking to himself more than to her. "This is more serious than I thought. It was one thing when it was just a private family affair but knowing this… Hilary isn't watching. I'll have to pass it on to their majesties. Why did you not speak of this before?!" he demanded of the child.

Yuki cocked her head at him, feeling a sick pit in her stomach. "I didn't think it meant much other than making sure Renaldo was telling the truth when Mom was interviewing him. The worst you've done is leave out details once or twice, so why are you acting like this?"

Forcing himself to kneel out of the food mess, he drew close enough to hold one of her hands with both of his own with a worried expression. "Yuki, dearest niece… the mark of a truth seer is not a thing to be taken lightly. It is the sign that you are the future consort of the kingdom's heir."

Large blue eyes blinked slowly, not quite sure that she heard correctly. There wasn't even the smallest hint of a lie, but… "… You think I'm supposed to marry your prince?"

"That is precisely what I am saying. The ruling monarch is always attended by a truth seer mate; it is how we have kept so much of the peace for over seven thousand years." Then he sighed. "Lune at least will be thrilled. He was starting to worry that he would have to wait as long as his father before finding a mate, since no one has been able to pass the traditional test and he's about five years older than you. We will have to arrange a way for you to take it, and soon."

"But I'm only ten!" Yuki protested, feeling a hot blush cover her cheeks at the thought of having a boyfriend already.

He bit back a smile at her worry. "Obviously, the wedding won't happen until after you turn sixteen, but there are lessons that the queen will need to pass onto you before you assume your royal duties. We will need to speed up our plans."

Yuki couldn't help feeling that things were escalating out of control. "Mom's going to have words about this! Taking magic lessons behind her back is one thing, but getting engaged to a _prince_? What if he's a snob? What if I don't like him?"

"A bonus of being a truth seer is that your personality compliments the heir you are meant for. There has yet to be a case of an unhappy marriage between a royal couple." Then Baron gave a wry smile. "And I assure you as Lune's fencing instructor that the lad isn't the least bit of a snob. Occasionally absent-minded, yes, but not a snob."

Yuki sank onto her bed in numb shock, which her little dog took as an invitation to hop onto her lap. "… I'll have to tell Mom about being a cat before she tries to take us back to the States."

Her uncle's next breath sounded like it was fighting back the urge to turn into a nervous laugh. "Ah, about that. Don't worry about what Haru thinks of this."

She slowly looked up from rubbing an obliviously happy Toby's back. " _Excuse me_? Mom deserves to know about all this, or at least the part about you being my uncle that's been teaching me magic."

"It's not important for her to know," he insisted firmly.

Her temper began rising at his dismissal of her mother's input. "Uncle Humbert, I know you don't like her, but whether you like it or not, I'm legally Mom's. Which means if you're going to want to keep contacting me for lessons or engagements or anything like that, you'll have to go through her to get to me. Or, wait! I've got a better idea!" she said with excitement.

"You come home with me instead?" he asked hopefully.

Still smiling, she managed another casual shrug. "Well, sure. After you patch up things with Mom, I doubt she'd complain too much about us moving again, especially since we know that Drac's known about the Refuge. Heck, she'd probably enjoy being around a bunch of tall cats after how many times she's-"

" **Yuki!** Yuki, dearest…" He knelt in front of her and gently grabbed her hands to insist on her full attention. "Haru can't come to our kingdom."

She dropped her jaw in horror.

Baron did his best to rub his concern onto her little hands as he continued. "Please understand. The king made it more than clear that she's not permitted inside his domain."

The world turned unnaturally silent as the implications sunk in.

"… You've been planning this from the _beginning_?" she whispered, praying that he wasn't trying to suggest leaving her mother. She ripped her hands out of his in case her hunch was right, getting off the bed in order to put some distance between them as he continued to plead his case.

"Yuki, Haru can't give you what you need to reach your true potential. I can. Tell me truly; do you think that this world will be able to equal what our world has waiting for you? Think of Lune, do you truly wish to make him and yourself spend the rest of your lives alone and end the royal line? I know this is much to put on one as young as yourself, but there is a point in your life when you have to… set aside the things that aren't as important in the name of duty. Do you understand?"

Not as important? Did he really just say that? The ten-year old gave her uncle a very careful looking over, as if he were saying this as someone that had never met her mother.

Nope. Still inexcusable.

"Duty is that important?" she asked in a chilly tone, knowing that his answer could sever the close friendship she had built with him.

"Indeed. But I promise that you will want for nothing in my care," he insisted while smiling desperately. "I have a great many more books in my library, and of course you'll want to meet your mother's rabbits. At least two of them are ones your mother helped bring into the world, I'm certain you would appreciate seeing them before their time comes, and Hilary is looking forward to spoiling you. Even the queen is certain to take to you as her own. You won't even notice that Haru isn't-"

Yuki couldn't take it anymore! Using every bit of her magic, she picked up the tawny feline and threw him out of the door that had opened so that he could make contact with a stone wall. Unlike last time, she found satisfaction in the resulting groans of pain.

Toby hopped off her lap with an alarm yelp, but she couldn't be bothered to worry about him now.

"I! Will! **Notice**!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, slamming the door between them before running back to it and pulling a thin braid of her own hair out of her pocket. She wasted no time tying it around the doorknob, wishing that she had put it there before her so called 'uncle' tried to come in. "Only _I_ shall touch this door," the girl hissed, giving the braid a touch of power like her books had instructed.

The pulse briefly made the wood shudder before falling silent again.

"Yu… Yuki!" her uncle tried to call as the girl walked away, pulling her duffel bag out from under her canopied bed and start stuffing in the few things she had taken out of it, like her cell phone and the pictures of her family.

The girl could hear him yelp as he tried to fight against her barrier, and Toby was experimentally attempting to paw at the wood but couldn't quite touch the door.

"Yuki, let me in! Please, I can explain it better!" Baron pleaded.

"Drop dead, creep," she muttered, putting in her earphones and selecting music on her Kindle to drown him out.

She usually preferred classic, but with how enraged she felt, only hard rock would do. With her real belongings all packed, she sat on the bed and let the music try to wash her cares away. But it wasn't long until she could feel her uncle's eyes on her.

" _Yuki? I know you can hear me, please don't shut me out,"_ his voice begged through her thoughts, but she only turned up the volume and projected the sound directly into his mind.

" _ **I must confess that I feel like a monster!**_ _"_ the lead singer for Skillet bellowed like a storm.

Her lips curled into a naughty smile as she somewhat heard a yelp of pain from outside her room. _'Don't worry. The pain is_ _ **unimportant**_ _.'_

Hmm, what else could she do to make him see how important her mother was? … Yes, that should do the trick.

Yuki slung her duffel bag over one shoulder, her book bag tucked into the same arm, and gathered Toby's various toys and food supplies into a carefully arranged pile. Using her power to hold most of the weight of the various items, the young girl was careful to make everything look like she was holding it naturally before using enough power to relocate the white braid of protection onto her wrist like a bracelet.

Since her uncle was still looking on her, it wasn't much of a shock when he threw the door open to try again. "Yuki, please! I'm doing this for your own good- wait, where are you going?!" he yelped as she raised him enough to leave her doorway and become crudely pressed against the ceiling.

With her arms still full of her and Toby's things, she sent a glare at her mother's door to encourage it to unlock and open for her. "Tell Renaldo that he can bodyguard me from the hallway from now on. Toby, heel!"

As if finally catching on that something was wrong, he whimpered before following his master into the blue and grey room.

Yuki released her hold on Baron as soon as the door shut, but there was no satisfying thud or outcry from the other side of the door as Yuki made the braid slip over the doorknob and whisper the same spell as before, locking the room after the spell was enforced. Turning her music back on, the white-haired girl made herself at home in her mother's room, designating a bare corner for feeding Toby and unpacking her clothes with ease into the left side of her mother's wardrobe.

There was hardly anything in it compared to other one, making Yuki feel a stab of guilt. "What kind of daughter am I?" she whispered, curling up on one half of the large bed. "I've been letting myself be pampered like a princess, and Mom's been given almost nothing?"

Worse than nothing! Baron wanted to separate them! Yuki fought back a shudder from the horrible thought, taking comfort in her basset hound as he joined her on the bed and wiggled into her arms to lick her face comfortingly.

… She really should adjust the spell on the door. Her mother would get a little too suspicious if she was suddenly unable to enter her own room without help.

Sighing a bit, Yuki forced herself to get up and hunt for her mother's hairbrush. _'Oh great, she picked it clean recently!'_ Then again, her mother was never one to allow build-up on hairbrushes.

At least there weren't any buzzing sounds to indicate the room was being tapped, but that wasn't steadfast proof that Drac hadn't found a way other than spy cameras or using her uncle.

Not thinking of anything better to do, now that she was giving up her uncle's books, Yuki sat down and played catch with her dog, being careful not to throw it in a way that would break anything.

' _Ha! The only thing that looks breakable is the vanity mirror, the windows, and the canopy on this bed. There was more danger of breaking something in my… my_ _ **old**_ _room.'_ "Toby? Do you think I should tell Mom that I'm actually a magical cat from another dimension, and that my second cousin once removed wants to take over being my parent?"

He just dropped the soggy ball into her lap, panting happily with anticipation.

"Or that he wants me to get at least engaged to some prince? I'm pretty sure I should tell her about that. But **how**?" She threw the ball, wishing that they were outside. "You don't need to go for a walk yet, do you?"

Toby gave no indication other than wanting her to throw the ball he just returned.

Yuki rested her chin on one hand as she tried to think things through. _'I don't think I'd make a very good princess. I've never liked crowds all that much, and Mom says it's a lot of pressure to have huge crowds staring at you all the time and invading your privacy and peeking at you through the windows-'_

A light tapping on glass made her look up in surprise, noticing that Baron had stopped watching for a while but was now doing it again.

Her mother was outside the window, gripping onto something while flashing a slightly desperate smile. "Would you mind letting me in, Sweet Pea?" she called through the glass.

"Sure, Mom," Yuki agreed, scrambling to her feet in order to open up the window.

The brunette eased her legs into the room first with a sigh, smoothing out her skirt with one hand. "Man, that was an unexpected workout. What happened?"

"… Did you just climb the castle wall?" her daughter asked in disbelief, looking downward to see if there had been any vines to assist her.

Nope. Just uneven stone for a good two hundred feet. She could see some people at the bottom of the castle, but other than her bodyguard and the rat, she couldn't tell who it was. The rat was throwing a loud fit, so she closed the window with a naughty smirk.

"Renaldo stormed my dubbing session for Baron's singing voice and said you had moved into my room. Drac forbade me from going up the stairs to see you, so I indulged him this once by obeying him to the letter." Her wicked little smirk made it clear that obedience had nothing to do with the climb. "He really should have remembered last time I scaled a castle's walls. The skirt made it harder this time but I got comfort points for wearing shoes."

Yuki couldn't help but laugh at the imagined expression on Drac's face. By the time she had calmed down, her mother was sitting on the bed with her on the lap. Toby wasted no time hopping onto the bed and settling himself next to his two owners.

"But enough about my little amusements. What's wrong, Sweetheart?" Haru asked while rubbing her chin against her daughter's soft white hair.

Yuki looked down at her lap. "Can we go home? I miss home, I don't like it here anymore."

Haru gave her a long look, almost deflating. "You tried to talk to Baron about me, didn't you?"

There was no point in denying it, even if she could lie. "Yes."

Her mother sighed and gave her a deeper hug. "Sweetness? If I ask you to do something, or not to do something, I usually have a good reason. He just needs some thinking time."

"He's not going to change his mind," Yuki mumbled miserably. "He hates you."

" _I do not!"_ her uncle mentally protested.

" _ **Could have fooled me!**_ _"_ she bellowed back as Haru obliviously ran her hand over the girl's white hair.

"No, he hates the person I remind him of and he is put out with me for having a different life and parenting style than what he's used to. Sweetie, please just stay out of the fight-"

But Yuki's patience was done. "I **have** been, Mom! I've been letting him disrespect you since we got here, and nothing's changed! I like him a lot, but he won't think about the fact that you're my hero! You've _been_ my hero since the moment we met, but that doesn't mean anything to him!" She burst out crying, wishing that she had never talked her mother into taking this job. She should have sat back with the baby carrots while Haru made mincemeat out of Drac's company and then call Bruce for real help. She should have obeyed her instincts and not let them leave the house that fateful morning.

Life had been perfect back then. Just her, her mother, and her dog and the chickens. Yuki didn't need much to be happy; just that was plenty for her. Why did she have to get so greedy at the first chance of meeting others like her when they clearly weren't like her at all?!

Haru growled under her breath as she rubbed her daughter's back in comfort. "Thank you, Baron, for forcing me to have this talk with my child years before I had to."

Once Yuki had calmed down, she was scooted off her mother's lap, set on the bed, and had her hands clasped by her favorite person.

The white-haired girl felt a cold chill at how similar this was to Baron's stance.

"Sweetheart," her mother began sternly, but it was still more gentle than when her uncle tried this. "… Do you remember what I told you about how growing up was for me? Or the way I was before Dad set me straight?"

The blue-eyed child looked down at their clasped hands, nodding a little.

"Do you think I enjoyed telling you any of that?"

Yuki managed a small, sad laugh. "No."

"If I didn't enjoy it, why would I tell you something that would have been too easy for me to pretend never happened, and am happier when I forget about it altogether?"

Yuki opened her mouth… but couldn't think of anything to say at first. "… So that I could see how similar we are even though you had it worse?"

"Yes and no." Her mother gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "I wanted you to know that it's easy for me to see your point of view, and I wanted to… prepare you for a meeting like that."

Her child blinked in shock. "Wait, you knew he was going to tell me…" She couldn't dare say it out loud!

Haru simply reached up and started rubbing Yuki's face and hair in soothing patterns. "I knew that, at some point in the future, _someone_ was going to come along, convinced that they have all the answers, and try to force you into their idea of how your life should be. I told you those things so that you could understand ahead of time just how miserable life becomes when you do nothing but obey."

"So I can ignore everything he said?" Yuki said hopefully, _relishing_ in how enraged the cat man must be right now!

Haru frowned disapprovingly. "Now hold your horses, young lady. I don't know what Baron said to get you this upset at him. For now, can you just listen?"

Yuki nodded, squeezing her mother's hands lovingly.

"The problem isn't always that people are going to come by and order you around. There are going to be times when they'll have a point."

Her little mouth dropped in surprise.

"Even when people spit hateful things at you for not obeying their slightest whims, it is a good idea to stop and think about whether or not there's something deeper for you to consider. Because life is hardly about doing what you want all the time; there's going to be times when you have to do something you'd rather not because it's the right thing to do or it's in the name of duty."

Yuki shivered at the 'd' word.

"There's also… well, more often than not, you're going to have to stop and think about what will happen by doing or not doing something. Here's an example; let's say that I finally lost my temper with Baron for making you upset enough to move into my room, and marched downstairs to either beat the living snot out of him or to slaughter him in an overdue duel. What would be the consequences if I did that?" Haru asked while gesturing with one hand.

Yuki didn't waste time pondering a response. "He'd finally learn not to be a jerk to you!"

"What else?" her mother pressed.

"Who cares? He'd stop being rude, wouldn't he?"

Haru breathed in long through the nose, looking frustrated. "I guess this was a good time for the talk after all. Honey, if I vented all the rage against Baron that I wanted to, it would either kill him or put him in a body cast. What would happen if he's in a body cast for several months?"

"… He'd stop visiting me?" she guessed, although not entirely sure that would do the trick.

"Bigger than that, although that'd be plenty punishment by itself. Yuki, Baron and I are under contract to Drac. I can promise that Drac will not recast him, which would mean that he would force everyone in this castle, including us, to wait until Baron was completely healed to finish filming. Do you want to stay here for several extra months?"

Yuki slowly shook her head, a little surprised at not thinking of that possibility.

"On top of that, if Baron is in a sick bed over me for an extended period of time, that won't improve his opinion of me. If anything, it'll make it worse because he'll either get angry enough to make negotiations over you even more difficult than they already are, or he would become so terrified of me that he won't be able to function if I'm in a hundred-yard radius. Do I want Baron's fear or hatred?"

"… No," Yuki admitted regretfully.

"Let's say I kill him in the argument instead. The reason I've never been given jail time is because they were monsters that have either hurt people or were about to. I can almost guarantee that this kill would change that, and I don't want you to be at Drac's mercy for even ten minutes, let alone how long it would take for even Bruce to take you home."

The girl looked down, surprised that she was liking the idea of being with Bruce more than Baron right now. Even if her godfather was a constant liar, **he** at least had her mother on a pedestal.

Haru's knees must have been getting sore, because she turned around in order to sit on the ground next to the bed. "Besides, the way Renaldo's spoken about his lord makes it more than clear that Baron would be missed where he's from, with or without the additional confirmation. I wouldn't put it past certain people to at least press charges against me for the kill."

' _Thank you for not saying 'Hilary'! Drac's probably watching with my 'uncle' by now!'_ Yuki couldn't resist thinking with relief.

"Sweetheart, whether or not I have a good relationship with Baron isn't as important as the one he holds with you. Try telling me that he doesn't love you."

Yuki wracked her brain, trying to think of the last time he told her as much. Her eyes widened after a long moment. "I… I don't know! He's never said so!"

She half-expected him to invade her mind again to say one way or the other, but the silence seemed to confirm the fear.

Haru managed a laugh over that. "Yuki, I didn't ask if he told you. He's been showering you with favoritism since before you even met the guy. Not that I'm complaining since I like when people notice how amazing you are, but it's obvious that he at least cares for you very much. For peanut butter's sake, he lets you call him 'Uncle Humbert'!"

' _Because he_ _ **is**_ _my uncle. Wait, what if all this was to win against my first parents? They couldn't keep me, but he thinks he has a chance?'_ Yuki thought in horror. He was trying to replace her adoptive mother, what would hold him back from trying to replace her birth parents as well?

Haru continued speaking since her daughter had no way of voicing her current concern. "While Baron has a long list of complaints against me, the one he always gets the most passionate about is when he thinks I'm not being a good enough parent for you."

"But you're amazing, too. If he would just give you a chance, he'd see that for himself," Yuki made sure to state clearly, both for her mother's and uncle's benefit.

Haru closed her eyes painfully. "Sweetie? Take it from an expert; you can't force anyone to change an opinion or belief. That kind of thing has to come from the inside."

"But you changed Uncle Bruce's opinion! Uncle Arthur's and Queen Angelica, her mother, son, and country of Mondorra." She paused long enough to start ticking names off her fingers. "Drac, Grandpa, all of Gotham not to mention that one park-"

"That's enough, Yuki!" her mother pleaded, quickly standing up and covering her mouth with a guiltily desperate smile.

The girl managed to pull that hand off for one more point. "Good luck convincing me that there aren't others you've changed the minds of. You hate bragging, but sometimes, I wish you would. I hate knowing that complete strangers know things about you that I don't."

Haru looked at her; large brown eyes watering a little as she stood up and pressed a loving kiss to her girl's forehead. "When you turn twelve, Sweet Pea, that's going to be everyone else's complaint about you. I'm dreading that talk even more, but… there are things you deserve to know, and I promised."

Yuki beamed while sneaking another hug. "I trust you, Mom. I'm ten, another year and a half won't kill me."

"And so _big_ , already," Haru sighed while returning the loving glance. But she took in a deep breath before speaking again, sitting on the bed again since her knees were getting tired. "There's a problem with that list and, yes, the ones I haven't told you about yet. Other than your grandfather and yourself, I didn't so much change minds as I impressed the living snot out of people so much that they felt like they _had_ to take a sincere second look at me, just to try making sense out of what the flying heck I just did. You and Dad were pretty much the only ones willing to like plain old me instead of whoever it is I'm pretending to be or whatever 'impossible' thing I'm up to at the second."

Yuki folded her arms with a wicked smirk. "Well. Since Baron's refusing to be impressed by 'plain old Haru Yoshioka', we need something bigger."

Her mother's entire face became filled with terror. "NO! NO, I am _not_ going there again!"

"But it'll help!" her daughter insisted.

"No, no, a million times, no! That's behind me, that's why I retired! You don't deserve to watch me stumble in after… one of _those_!"

"What about the wolf?" Yuki reminded while her smirk increased.

"I thought we agreed not to talk about the wolf!"

Yuki giggled, since it wasn't often her mom lost her cool like this. "It's not like I've got a blood-thirsty monster in my back pocket, Mom." Suddenly she remembered something even better! "Say, didn't you once mention that you used to duel with Drac? You can show off your skills and not have to lay a finger on Baron."

Haru answered that with an animalistic growl. "Okay, one, there will be blood if Drac and I ever get into another duel, and I can guarantee that at least the majority of it will be his. Two, knowing this, Drac will ensure that Baron doesn't even know the duel is happening, or ever happened. Heck, he didn't like anyone other than his father and the family staff knowing about our duels."

"Because he kept losing, I bet," Yuki added smugly.

Haru gave an agreeing nod and shrug. "That played a part, yes. I did let him win a few times when his morale started waning, though. But back to the point, Yuki, we're talking about your relationship with Baron. Did you at least tell him what to do if he wants back in your life?"

"Oh, _he knows_ ," she growled before sharply cutting herself off.

That growl had been a little too feline.

"He knows what the problem _is_ or how to _fix_ the problem?" her mother pressed.

"Both! At least he better know! It's pretty obvious."

"Oh boy," Haru groaned while holding her head with one hand. "Word from the wise, Yuki; men don't always take an obvious hint. You have to take the hint and hit them over the head with it before they get the point. I had to humiliate Drac in front of ten -"

The girl swiftly felt her uncle's eyes leave them, probably because the director demanded it in a hurry.

"-million people and completely cut him out of my life before he got the idea that he wasn't going to pressure me into marriage." She shuddered as if trying to escape a bad dream. "I don't know why I thought that would be enough to make him permanently exit my life."

Yuki threw her hands up helplessly. "What am I supposed to do, Mom?! I can't keep pretending that the way he treats you doesn't bother me!"

"Then tell him so," Haru replied bluntly.

The younger female glowered, folding her arms again while turning around on the bed. "He's about the last person I'm interested in talking to right now."

"Can you write him a letter?" Haru bargained.

Large blue eyes looked behind her with surprise.

"Just explain why you're upset and what he could do if he wants you to let him back into your life, keeping in mind what long-term consequences will come with your decision. Either he rises to the challenge and proves his worth or tries to talk you out of it and proves to both of us that he doesn't deserve to keep tea time with you or whatever it is you two do together. Say, what _do_ you two do while I'm occupied?" her mother suddenly asked suspiciously.

Yuki felt a chill in her heart but she had already practiced her response. "We eat breakfast, he helps me with my studies, he tells me about his traditions, and he takes every excuse possible to make tea for us. He even lets Toby have some."

Haru smacked herself in the forehead again. "A private tea blend. Why doesn't it shock me that he has one?" she lamented, although there was a small smile from the newly discovered fact. The first one in a while that had no trace of bitterness or self-loathing to it without being attached to her beloved daughter.

Yuki couldn't believe her own eyes. "How can you _do_ that?"

"Huh?" her mother asked, snapping to attention as she felt her uncle's eyes on them again.

Drac must have guessed that they were done talking about his humiliation by now, but the young girl couldn't make herself worry about that for now.

"Baron's been nothing but a jerk to you!" Yuki reminded the woman, trying hard not to do so at the top of her voice. "Why do you get happy at the smallest thing he has in common with **the** Baron? You do know he's not the same guy, right? **The** Baron is just a stock character that you get paired up with a lot."

She gave a small laugh. "Of course I know, Sweetie. The real Baron would have realized how unreliable a source Drac and his minions are and made an unbiased analysis of me months ago. But it's little things like this that gives me hope that things are going to work out after all."

Yuki couldn't help cocking her head in confusion. "How does one odd skill equal to Baron eventually apologizing for treating you like trash?"

Haru took in a deep breath and kissed her child's forehead again before resting her chin in soft white hair. "Sweetheart? I've taken a pretty big gamble on Baron being a better person than he wants me to find out about right now. Forgive me for clinging to any hint I can that my instincts are right about him."

A lower lip began trembling, but this might be the only chance she had to make both her mother and uncle listen to her exact thoughts about them. "That's partially why I'm upset, Mom. You two are more alike than Baron will let me tell him. If he just let go of his idea of you for five minutes and had a real talk with you, you'd be even better friends with him than with Uncle Bruce."

Her eyebrows raised high in surprise. "You think we're _that_ compatible as friends? Bruce didn't exactly set my standards low, you know."

Yuki fought back what she wanted to say about Bruce in favor of what she _needed_ to say to both of them. "I'm telling you, Mom. If you had met any other way than through Drac, you'd be just as willing to call him family as Tim, Dick, Uncle Bruce or Grandpa. I want us to be a happy family. I want you two to be best friends to the end."

Her uncle didn't even try to say anything to that. But her mother could, placing her hands on the child's face to ensure her complete attention.

"Tell him that, Yuki. You're the only one that has a prayer of convincing Baron that's all I want from him, too."

xxXxx

A/N: The song Yuki used was 'Monster' by Skillet. I almost forgot to credit it


	20. Without You

**Chapter Twenty: Without You**

 _My dream wouldn't be complete without you in it._

 _-Tiana, Disney's Princess and the Frog_

xxXxx

 _Renaldo was panting heavily and holding his side from the unwanted run when Haru intercepted him in the hallway just before their bedrooms._

" _Yuki asked me to tell you that you'll be guarding her from outside the door until she gets things squared away with Baron," she informed him, not breaking her stride as she passed him._

" _Huh? I thought you were going to fix it!" he protested while rotating his body to keep facing her._

 _Haru didn't so much as look back at him as she continued her steady pace. "It's as fixed as it's going to be until those two come to an agreement. Be flattered, Renaldo; she considers you one of Baron's gifts."_

 _Although his legs were begging him to take it easy for a while, he forced himself to catch up to the mermaid and grab one arm to stop her. "Now slow down for a-"_

 _That same arm automatically twisted enough to throw him to the stone floor and grind a small foot into his back while simultaneously pinning his arm in the space of one and a half seconds._

 _The disguised cat could only blink in surprise, fighting back a sudden headache with while trying to catch his breath. 'Wait, what just happened?'_

" _I can put up with a lot, Renaldo. But I thought I made it clear that I draw the line at getting touched by near strangers without permission. Everyone other than my daughter needs permission. Got that?" Haru informed him in an iron-firm tone._

"… _Bruce… too?" he managed to groan._

" _Bruce always knows when I'm open to contact or not. You are not Bruce." She gave his arm a painful twist before releasing him. "_ _ **Do**_ _be a bit more careful with your hands, won't you? Having to use brute force always puts me in a bad mood."_

 _By the time that Renaldo was able to sit up, Haru had already turned the corner needed to reach the staircase. But with his ears, he had no trouble hearing her every word._

" _Oh, right, I forgot. I'm not allowed to touch the stairs. Meh, I can make this work."_

" _Step away from that tapestry, Haru!" Drac bellowed loudly as Renaldo struggled to get to his feet, feeling a lot more bruised than he wanted to let on._

" _I'm still forbidden, remember?" the mermaid responded with a smirk in her tone._

" _You can go on the stairs!_ _ **Please**_ _just use the stairs like a normal person!"_

" _Hmm, I don't know. That tapestry looks pretty securely attached," she teased in retaliation._

 _Renaldo could barely believe his own ears, leaning against the wall as he tried not to use his bruised arm too much. Did the mermaid suffer from multiple personality disorder? She was already back to the same lighthearted joking as if she had never left bruises on a bodyguard easily three times bigger than herself._

" _Whee!" she cheered, clearly sliding down the banister again as opposed to taking the stairs, much to the rat's chagrin._

" _Does that girl_ _ **enjoy**_ _confusing people?" Renaldo tried not to moan, making his slow way to Yuki's bedroom._

 _Hopefully he could catch Yuki moving back in there by now._

 **xxXxx**

Baron took in a deep breath, wishing he had more than just a defiance on paper as he pressed an ungloved hand against the mirror in his room within Drac's castle. "This is Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, requesting an audience with her majesty, Queen Sonya Felinus."

The mirror rippled with the request, but it thankfully wasn't long until it cleared with a vision of the dark queen.

The elegant shorthair drew her symbol into the lower right corner of the mirror by her favorite chair of the royal chambers before resuming her needlework. "This is quite a surprise, Baron. Is your contract completed already?"

He sighed mournfully. "I'm afraid not, my queen. By rights I should have contacted his majesty, but you have a greater chance of hearing all instead of the good portion of news I must share."

Sonya's furry lips curled into a smile as she reluctantly set her needle down. "Very well. Does it concern your strangely named niece?"

"Indeed." Baron took a second to gather up his courage. Once this passed his lips, there would be no backing down. "She told me this morning that she is a truth seer."

That caught his queens undivided attention, even making her drop her embroidery frame. "What? Of a surety?"

Baron nodded. "She insists that even her adoptive mother knows of her gift, though I have not tried to question Haru about it yet. But that is only part of the news I bring."

Sonya rubbed her chin in thought, leaving her needlework by her feet for the moment. "I'm afraid so. Convincing the court that Louise' daughter will not forsake her duties will prove quite the challenge."

Baron's hand that was out of the queen's sight clenched painfully. "We have another challenge before that, I'm afraid. She… I told Yuki that I wished to bring her to our world."

The queen cocked her head, guessing the response in a heartbeat. "She refused? Is the Human World really worth rejecting her birthright, even without my son's hand in marriage?"

On anyone else, the small release of breath that passed through Baron's lips would have been a soft laugh. "No. If anything, she didn't mind the idea of leaving this world for good. … It's leaving the mermaid that she finds intolerable." He held up her letter in confirmation. "She's informed me that unless Haru is allowed to live in the Kingdom as a full member of the von Gikkingen family, Yuki will not only refuse to cooperate, but she will make herself as much a nuisance as possible if we manage to force her arrival. Believe you me, with her power and creativity, she could cause quite a bit of trouble."

Sonya leaned back in her chair, thinking heavily. "You know why we can't allow a mermaid into our kingdom. She would invite anarchy if not open rebellion."

The feline lord felt he had no choice but to agree. "Few things give her more pleasure than refusing to conform, and she already has nearly the whole castle under her thrall, as well as the untold millions of followers she has built up since starting her career."

His good friend offered a knowing smirk. "But not you."

It was a statement, not a question.

Baron fought back an unamused smile. "Of course not, though Thomas is weakening. I believe she could have Drac under her power at any time, but she would rather vex him than anything else."

Sonya's eyes narrowed as she processed the new information. "Then Yuki is completely hers?"

The orange tabby could only nod at the unaltered truth. "To the point where Renaldo can't make her think about Haru as anything but an avenging angel." Baron fought back the urge to favor the bruises on his chest and arm from the mermaid, though the guilt from gaining the bruises from both mother and child were only growing. "She is certainly stronger than her appearance suggests, but I have little doubt that she encourages the more wild rumors I've heard about her abilities. She needs little more than a stern glance or a loud cough to make people mind. Even Drac is careful with certain subjects when she is around."

Sonya tapped the armrest thoughtfully. "I suppose Yuki has refused the test until we relent?"

Baron nodded again in mourning. "She won't so much as let me talk to her until I make peace with Haru. But Hilary has informed me that the mermaid has admitted to having something planned for me, and I have _no_ interest in becoming another notch on her purse strap. Not even for my niece."

The black cat sighed a little while leaning a bit more on the armrest of her chair. "Our people have so little information concerning her kind. Have you discovered what it would take to make her hold break?"

Baron fought back a rueful smile. "If I had, I would have used it on Yuki at least. The most peaceful way to solve this would have ethical problems, so I am at a loss on what to do."

"What was your unethical idea?" his queen pressed.

"Binding or stripping her power."

Sonya shuddered in horror. "That will not work. It will only fuel the girl's anger towards all of us. Perhaps binding the mermaid's power?"

Baron blinked. "I was already speaking of Haru. I would never do it to Yuki, but… yes, that might be the best solution," he admitted with difficulty. "Drac likes her best for her voice, so he may just leave her be if she can no longer sing. Everything has pointed to Haru being frugal with her impressive assets, so she will not go hungry or homeless at least. But it would only need to work for an hour at most."

His queen nodded her agreement. "Very well. I'll have Gregory look through the magic treasury for something suitable. It may be best to keep Yuki's ability between us until such time as she takes the test. I don't want to raise my son's hopes in case your niece is mistaken."

"I doubt she is, but there is no need to borrow trouble with his majesty. Ah, you don't need to tell him I said that," Baron tried to backtrack, but Sonya was already giving him a flat glare.

"I _have_ met my husband, Baron. What is your niece like?" she asked, turning very hopeful.

Baron could feel his lips try to curl into a smile as he leaned his chin on the hand that had an elbow resting on the table. Since he had established his opinion of Yuki during their first breakfast together, he needed no time to gather his thoughts for such a description. "Her mother's beauty and love of rabbits. Her father's brains and love of peace. Her adoptive mother's stubbornness and love of music. I've already made mention of her unusually strong power to you in my last report. I have little doubt that with the right lessons, she will make a fine princess."

Sonya smiled with relief. "That is good news. As much as I love my son, he will need someone firm but kind."

Although smiling was still difficult for Baron, his eyes turned much softer. "I assure you that plays a part on why I'm convinced your successor is Yuki. She is a good, sensible young lady." _'Most of the time, at least.'_

ooOoo

Someone was knocking on their door. The white-haired girl forced herself to stretch with a yawn, noticing that her mother was already out of bed.

And that there was someone new along with her uncle watching them.

"Just a minute!" Haru called out, putting the last touches on her makeup before standing up from the vanity.

"I'll get it!" Yuki yelped, tearing herself out of bed to reach the door first.

She had managed to harvest a long strand of brown hair last night after her mother fell asleep, but had yet to alter the braid that kept all intruders out so that her mother could come and go as she wished. The girl opened the door a crack, scowling at the one on the other side. "Yes, Renaldo?"

"Yuki, you shouldn't stand at the door in just your… night clothes!" he yelped, averting his eyes as if she wasn't covered from chin to ankles in flannel pajamas decorated with bunnies.

"Don't be such a baby, Renaldo; everything important is covered. Is Yuki's breakfast ready so early?" Haru asked, taking the extra second to run a brush through her hair a few more times.

"Yuki, please let me in," her bodyguard begged, meaning more than the door.

"Not until Baron apologizes to Mom. Final offer." The pale girl could hear her mother coming up behind her while shouldering her bag, so she reluctantly opened the door enough so that the brunette wouldn't notice the magical barrier.

Haru thankfully noticed nothing odd in her daughter's behavior. "I stand by her decision, Renaldo. Please move so I can get to work."

He forced his eyes off his little charge so that he could address the mother. "I came for you, actually. This has your name on it," the disguised cat offered, holding up a small black and white striped box topped with a red bow.

Yuki felt a chill looking at the present, almost like it was trying to pull her closer to it.

"If it's from Drac, then I don't want it," her mother informed the bodyguard while motioning with a hand for him to move.

"It's not," he informed her, refusing to comply.

Haru blinked at him suspiciously. "I'm pretty sure Baron wouldn't send me anything except maybe a letter or note, and he would just hand that to me himself."

"I agree," Renaldo replied, every muscle tensed up as he still refused to move.

"Do you know who it's from?" Haru pressured him.

The large 'man' gave a nervous look to Yuki, who was folding her arms with a glare.

' _Lie to my mom. I_ _ **dare**_ _you.'_

"Yes, but she asked me not to tell you," he answered instead, now avoiding his charge's eye.

"Hilary?" Haru guessed, but Renaldo shook his head.

"No. She's no one Baron or I have mentioned. She just… wanted you to have this."

"Are you going to let me go before I take it?" she asked tiredly.

"I'm not supposed to move until you open it," Renaldo insisted, still offering her the package.

Haru rolled her eyes with a growl of exasperation but reached out her hand for the box.

But it wasn't until the present changed hands that Yuki realized that Renaldo was wearing thick leather gloves. That was odd; usually he only wore them to avoid dog drool while playing fetch with a still sleeping Toby.

"Mom, maybe you should save it for later," she tried to reason, but the ribbon was already falling away as the top of the box unfolded open like a flower.

Her mother's expression was priceless as she stared at the contents, slowly turning her gaze to the nervous bodyguard. "I'll give her points for creativity. I didn't think anything was going to be stranger than the time that someone sent me dried orange peels."

"What is it, Mom?" Yuki asked, unable to explain why she was afraid.

"Just a black marble. See?" Haru tipped the box enough to let a single marble fall into her hand amid the sound of rustling tissue paper. Then she stiffened in surprise, looking down at the bauble.

"Is everything all right?" Renaldo asked a little too tightly.

Haru was still staring at the small marble. "Did she keep this thing in a freezer before wrapping it up? It's like a bit of black ice."

Something was wrong with the present.

"I thought you had a high tolerance for the cold," the girl pointed out in confusion.

"I do, but the marble surprised me." Haru retreated enough to place the box on the vanity in order to study the present between both sets of bare fingers. "No… this is made from obsidian! The texture is not quite the same as glass, despite the polishing it took to get it this smooth."

Yuki didn't like the pulling sensation that marble was giving one bit. "Just toss it, Mom. What good is one marble?"

"That was an awfully fancy way to give me this one marble. … It might prove useful later," Haru decided, using a handkerchief to wrap it up and tuck it into a snug sleeve of her plain brown dress. "If nothing else, I can trip Drac with it if you or I run out of pranking ideas." Then she started sifting through her bag, making double sure that she had everything she needed for work. "If I get lucky, he'll twist an ankle and be out of our hair for a few weeks."

Yuki snuck a look at Renaldo, surprised at the complete shock on his face. What was wrong? He'd seen women with purses before.

… It had to be the marble.

"Are you sure that you don't want at least a few of Baron's books, Snow Angel? I think you finished reading through all of your own yesterday," her mother tried to coax after ensuring that she had everything.

Yuki shook her head stubbornly. "Baron knows my demands, and I'm not budging until he complies."

Haru rolled her eyes and stole a hug goodbye. "There's paper and pens in my duffel bag, but don't use my lappy unless you want to write an essay or email Tim again. Hey, you could use this time to design that trebuchet for me," she tried coaxing sweetly.

Yuki threw her hands up with an exasperated yell. "Mom! We still don't need a trebuchet!"

"Come on, think of the look on Drac's face if I tried to lay siege to the castle!" Her grin was wide and filled with glee, but Yuki was shaking her head while simultaneously rolling her eyes.

"Oh please, all you'd have to do is pull out some of your toys and order his minions to step aside."

The older woman pouted before kissing the snow-like hair. "Sure, go and take all the fun out of it. See you tonight, standard bed time, I'll get you up as usual. Be safe, Sweetness." With a last smile, she grabbed Renaldo by his ample arms, forcefully moved him to the side, and started marching down the hallway.

Yuki waited a few seconds after closing the door on Renaldo before glaring up at the ceiling. "What was _that_ all about?"

There was dead silence, although she could still feel her uncle's and the stranger's eyes on the room. Her own blue eyes narrowed dangerously before trying again. _"_ _ **What was wrong with the marble**_ _?!"_

" _There is no need to shout, young lady. We can hear you just fine,"_ an unfamiliar woman's voice scolded her softly.

Yuki folded her arms like a disapproving parent. "Then why didn't you answer me? Something in that marble was trying to pull me in, and Mom wouldn't put it down. Renaldo acted stranger than normal, so what was going on?!"

"… _We were testing your mother's magic. Neither of us had ever seen a reaction quite like that before,"_ her uncle admitted in stunned amazement.

The young girl could feel her mouth drop in surprise, although her head was throbbing with a half-truth. "You thought Mom had _magic_? That's ridiculous; one of her favorite things is stories about magic! If she had even a scrap of it, she'd have shown it off to me by now!"

" _Not even in her voice? Baron has informed me that she can do a great many things that no one else can."_

Yuki scoffed at how ridiculous her uncle and his friend were being. "Because she's worked hard on her vocal abilities since she was eighteen, and she likes trying new things just to see if she can! That applies to more than just her music."

" _Still, if she had no magic, she would not have felt a chill. She would not have noticed anything unusual about the marble,"_ the unknown woman fussed worriedly.

" _But if she had magic, the reaction would have been much stronger than noticing a chill. Besides, if she has such a deep love for stories of magic, why would you have kept silent of your own abilities for so long?"_ her uncle asked sourly.

Yuki nearly brought up the time she accidentally threw her mother against the wall… but stopped herself with a realization.

That had been years ago. Yuki now had near perfect control of her telekinetic gift, and if her mother knew about the supernatural side of what was being hidden from her, she would know what to do about Baron's plans for sure!

"Good point," she answered with a large grin, throwing open the door to see a horrified-looking bodyguard that have very obviously been listening to the conversation.

"Yuki, no!" Renaldo tried to stop her, but it took next to no effort to throw him into the room and slam the door on him before he could recover. The spell on the door would keep him from interfering.

" _I didn't mean it like that!"_ Baron shouted in a blind panic.

"Too bad," she answered, running down the hall while taking in a deep breath. " **MOMMY**!"

" _Yuki, no! No one from that world needs to know of ours!"_ the motherly voice tried to entreat her, but it was already too late. _"You shouldn't be out in your night clothes; go back this instant!"_

Haru took almost no time at all to run around the corner with a panicked expression of her own. "Yuki, what's wrong?!"

"I need to tell you something!" the girl called out, closing the distance between them as quickly as possible.

" _Yuki, don't! If you don't tell her, I'll… I'll apologize."_

That was the only thing that made the girl stop dead in her tracks, which made Haru close the distance between them in order to kneel in front of her; every ounce of worried attention centered on her child. "Did Renaldo say something? Was someone suspicious outside the window? Did you see a spider? Tell me what's wrong so I can fix it!" she begged while gripping the child's arms and pulling her close enough to lock eyes.

" _I give you my word, Yuki. I'll… talk to your adoptive mother before a week is done if you just hold off now. Please. I never go back on my word,"_ Baron begged, sounding like he was on his knees.

" _That's right, dear, he doesn't! This is the worst way she could find out about this, I assure you!"_ the other voice confirmed, her tone still tinged in panic.

"Sweetheart? Talk to me," Haru pled, cupping one of Yuki's cheeks in a loving gesture.

She took in a deep breath, ignoring the pull of the marble. "I'm sorry, Mom. I want another hug. A real one."

The brunette let out a relieved sigh, not hearing the identical ones echoing in her daughter's mind. "Snow Angel, you have to be careful when you call out to me like that. I was about ready to take down a legion just now."

"I'm sorry," the white hair murmured guiltily, clinging to her mother like a lifeline as those familiar arms wrapped around her for a good long squeeze.

Even after five and a half years, they still felt like home. Yuki sighed and snuggled deeper as another loving kiss was pressed against her snow-like hair-

"Ouch!" her mother yelped, jumping to her feet and accidentally taking her daughter for the ride.

"Mom?! What's wrong?"

Haru put her down before pulling the handkerchief out of her sleeve while rolling up the fabric to inspect her scarred arm around the slim blade strapped to it.

" _Oh my,"_ the female voice whispered in stunned surprise, though not a peep was heard from her uncle.

"Oh good, it didn't penetrate." Haru felt the folds of her handkerchief in surprise. "It… shattered? But obsidian doesn't just shatter, I'd have to throw it hard against something at the very least."

Yuki stared at the cloth with a budding panic. It must have tested her magic by mistake. "Here, I'll get rid of the shards for you."

"… Fine, but be careful, Sweetness," her mother reluctantly agreed before handing it over and rolling her sleeve back down, careful not to cut it on her weapon. "You'd better head back to our room before Baron sees you and tries to chew me out for letting you be out in public like that."

"It's no one's fault but mine, Mom, and I'll make sure he knows that. See you tonight!" Yuki bade before running back to their room.

She couldn't help but notice that her mother was keeping a watchful eye on her until disappearing behind the door.

"Yuki, tell me you didn't tell Haru about-" Renaldo tried to beg, but Yuki shook her head while walking past him and to the vanity.

"Uncle Humbert promised to patch things up with Mom within a week, so I didn't," the young girl informed him while placing the handkerchief back into the box the marble had arrived in. "Things will go a lot easier for everybody if they have a calm talk as opposed to telling her that Uncle Humbert wanted to steal me away from her. That would get him slaughtered for sure."

Renaldo groaned at the truth he didn't want to acknowledge. "Oh, not that again. Hey, how did you convince her to give Binder back?"

"It shattered- wait, _Binder_?" she demanded at the forbidding name, but her bodyguard was already gaping in shock.

" _Shattered_? Binder doesn't shatter, it hasn't shattered in the five hundred years since it was forged!"

" _It's true. There was something in their embrace or Haru's kiss that was powerful enough to shatter Binder. But this is unheard of; it always absorbs magic whether it's dormant or-"_

" _My queen!"_ Baron hissed, but enough had been said.

"Get! **Out!** All of you; get out of here!" Yuki screamed as tears of rage flowed down her face.

She couldn't even notice that the shout had woken up her dog with a confused yowl.

"Now, Binder wasn't a permanent talisman, she'd have gotten her power back in an hour or so-" the bodyguard tried to soothe her, but was only thrown out the door for his efforts as well as the offending box of betrayal.

The wood closure slammed shut and locked behind him before Yuki directed her next words at the ceiling.

"That goes for you two, too! Get out and don't come back until Mom gets an apology for this as well!" she shouted before throwing herself back on the bed to start crying. "I thought… for two seconds… that things… were… going to be okay!"

Toby whimpered, wiggling his head under one arm to lick at her face in comfort.

Not wanting anyone to see her tears, Yuki used one arm to cover her face with a pillow. She used the other one to hold her basset hound close. He didn't have a clue as to what was upsetting her, but it was nice to have someone to hold right now.

She finally felt her uncle's eyes leave, but her would-be future mother-in-law was still watching.

"Go… away… Mom's enemy… _my_ enemy," the girl managed to say between sobs.

" _Darling, we are not your enemy, we were just ensuring that you were of your own mind."_

Yuki found this assurance false, although the woman wasn't lying. "Was it too hard to just _ask_ me? Before giving me another reason to not want anything to do with you _or_ your son?! He can go pick someone else for all I care! I won't have him!"

" _Dear, you're only ten-"_

As if that mattered! Yuki bellowed her reply, _wanting_ everyone and everything to hear her out, just this once!

"I'm old enough to know that I love my mom, and she loves me! It's you and _Baron_ that turned me into a battleground! Mom was willing to play nice for my sake, but you aren't! It's crystal clear who it is that loves me more if I'm even so much as a trophy to you cats! **My terms are non-negotiable!** " she roared at the top of her lungs, just remembering to put the pillow between hers and Toby's head to keep him from going deaf.

He still whimpered from her volume.

Yuki covered her face again, crying herself back into a troubled sleep while her beloved hound offered comfort the only way he knew how.

ooOoo

Baron closed his pocket watch before Drac could notice that he was hiding behind one of the wagons for the company. As he casually stepped to open sight to keep suspicions down, the tall feline couldn't stop thinking about what he had witnessed. Binder was not a talisman that allowed room for interpretation; it was ordinary to those without magic, and it temporarily bound anyone who did have magic. It should have been clear whether or not Haru had magic, but all the experiment had done was raise more questions.

He snuck another worried glance at the door, trying not to look any different than usual. With or without magic, there was something about Haru that needed watching.

Drac was checking his pocket watch with an irritated expression. "She's later than usual. We're losing precious time!"

' _We would have been done weeks ago if you weren't too good to sleep in a tent,'_ the feline had to fight back from saying, knowing that he would be forced to tell all if he revealed that he had just been watching-

Haru ran out the door, giving an apologetic wave to the company as she passed by Drac like a leaf caught in the wind. But as she passed by the director, the mermaid grew a naughty grin that said louder than words that she was about to pull another jest on him.

"And what _took_ you so long this time?" the director demanded, making Baron's blood run cold.

The last thing he needed was for his 'employer' to find out what he and his queen had tried to do to the leading lady.

The brunette in question only chuckled a little while rifling through her large bag with one hand; speaking in a rather annoying masculine voice.

" **For he was about to discover a crime so low, so** _ **hideous,**_ **that it had to involve… toilet paper!** " She held up an empty paper roll to emphasize the statement.

All the color drained from Drac's face. " _No_!" he howled, running back into the castle for some reason.

"My lady, you _didn't_!" one of the drivers protested as she started laughing her head off.

"Wait, I gotta see this!" one of the camera men begged through a stifled chuckle, hopping off the wagon.

That started a mad rush of everyone running back into the castle, some laughing while they squeezed back through the doors.

Baron couldn't fight the urge to roll his eyes. "What is so special about toilet paper all of the sudden?" he asked the only other person left outside.

Haru was sitting herself on one of the wagons before pulling out her knitting. "I made him think that I used toilet paper as streamers somewhere in there. Yuki was a little clingy this morning, and I don't like bringing her up in front of him in case he wants to be his usual un-charming self about other people having emotions."

Clingy. The poor child was probably weeping a river and she called that… right, Haru didn't know. She would still be with the girl if she had known how much pain…

 _He_ was putting his niece through.

Baron felt a large wave of guilt, making him look away in shame. He half-expected Haru to ask him what was wrong after a few moments of silence, but a glance upwards revealed that she had her back to him so that she could comfortably knit on a wagon facing away from him.

She was nearing the halfway point on his sister's cowl already. She certainly was faster at this when she wasn't… attempting to keep polite conversation with him at the same time.

' _She's probably using her knitting to ignore me. Mother always knit faster when she was displeased as well.'_ He looked back up to the castle, to the direction he knew his niece was.

' _Something in her kiss or embrace was the trigger. This makes precious little sense, but… my hands are tied. I promised my niece I would come to an agreement within a week.'_

Not that he could see how to keep that promise. Yuki belonged to his world, while Haru would only tear it apart for little more than the chance to laugh. He nibbled on a gloved finger in thought, remembering the other half of the deal he had struck with Drac.

Whatever Haru might think or do about her daughter's- _adoptive daughter's-_ origins really made no difference. But there was something strange in her own power; something that was able to underhand one of the most thorough magic talismans that his world had to offer.

Drat his inquisitive mind! He wanted to know what that shatter had been about! Haru was clearly hiding something from her daughter, but the only way he had a prayer of prying that kind of information out of the mermaid was to… make himself open to her influence.

He fought back a shudder at the thought of becoming one of the many servants that hung on her every word and whim…

Wait. Just how many whims did she have other than irritating Drac? Baron had to think long and hard about the question.

She brought her own water, her own entertainment before every shooting. She was surprisingly content to be left to her own devices and… yes, he was certain that the first time he caught her playing with the orchestra, it was on their request, not hers. She couldn't have had them practice so many extra songs to perfection so quickly after meeting them; it would have taken a month at least to be that ready for her, and he knew for himself that Haru had no idea of Drac's plans until much later than that.

 _Has_ no idea of Drac's plans, of course. He rather doubted that she would be waiting so patiently for the director's return if she knew what was in store.

Another wave of guilt hit him again.

It would mean so much to Yuki, and his arms were aching to hold her close.

" _I… I don't know! He's never said so!"_

Baron's heart throbbed painfully at her doubt. Speaking of one's emotions was difficult enough, even for one without his past, but-

' _Poppycock. Haru clearly has no problems saying it if Yuki was so traumatized by your refusal to say so,'_ his inner thoughts silenced him.

He knew pain when he saw it. Haru had been telling the truth about that fateful night so many years before. His large green eyes slowly came to rest on the brunette, still obliviously knitting away for his sister's sake.

He didn't realize his mouth was opening to speak to her until Drac threw the door open and stormed out with a terrifying expression.

"Where is it, Haru?!"

"Where's what?" she responded, not breaking stride in her stitches.

"The TP! Where did you do it?!" the director demanded while gripping the side of her wagon.

Haru answered without looking up from her knitting. "The bathroom at the top of the staircase, of course."

Drac glared at her as if he _knew_ she was lying. "I checked that one myself; the only toilet paper present was still on the roll!"

The mermaid gave him a fake look of surprise. "Of course it was. It was there when I used that bathroom before coming down for work."

It took a few seconds for the implications to sink into that rat's mind.

"You… you… _goose chase?!_ How could you do this when we are on a tight schedule?!" he screamed at her, but she just kept knitting like the yarn between her hands was more important than the fellow standing beside her side of the wagon.

"If your pampered hide could be bothered to try camping, we'd have finished filming by now."

' _Thank you!'_ Baron couldn't resist thinking with relief.

Drac was nearly hyperventilating with fury. "The surprise pie in my face was juvenile, the letter gag was boring, but _this_?! This wasted precious time on something that never happened!"

Haru fought back a laugh as she counted her rows with one finger, still keeping her eyes on her work. "I think you just described our old relationship in a nutshell."

Baron cocked his head to one side. _'Interesting.'_

Drac said their courtship had been perfection until she ran.

The director's red face was now beginning to look a shade purple as he fought back infuriated feral snarls.

"But since you're _so_ upset that I didn't TP a single place, I can just TP the _entire_ place!" Haru concluded, jumping to her feet with another of her ridiculously child-like grins as she searched her bag until producing a full roll of toilet paper.

" **NO!** " Drac did an impressive leap into the air, snatching the roll away from 'his lady love' with an animalistic glare. "Not on your life! Now sit down and be quiet!"

"Was it like this between you two before?" Baron asked, trying not to let his amusement show too much.

"What, no!" both Haru and Drac protested identically with panicked expressions.

"She used to do everything I told her!" Drac insisted.

"Only because I was more concerned about you liking me more than whether or not I was doing you any good!" Haru shot back with a glare.

"You did me plenty of good!" he insisted.

"Yes, now you're an entitled control freak; I just changed your complete destiny, didn't I?!" Haru snapped back while roughly pushing him off the wagon to get some breathing room. "Wait, who am I kidding? You were like that before we met, too!"

Drac stumbled, just catching himself by one wagon wheel before righting himself with a scowl. "It didn't bother you back then!"

"Oh, yes it did! I just acted like it didn't! In case you've somehow managed to miss that detail, I am a **very** good actress!"

' _There you have it. She just admitted to lying in one of her past relationships. What else is she lying about?'_ Baron wondered as he wished he could detect a subliminal pattern between her lies and truth without Yuki's assistance.

"So why didn't you just keep acting?! We had something special!" Drac roared while banging the side of the wagon with his fist.

Haru glared at him. "You remember full well why I finally gave up on you. Now leave me alone before I decide to tell Baron all about that day _and_ the ketchup incident!"

Drac's face was turning that purple color again. "I _forbid_ you from asking about the ketchup incident!" he snarled at the cat before walking away slightly to call the crew back with his radio.

Baron could only look at the mermaid while cocking his head inquisitively. _'What in halibut's name is ketchup?'_

Although Haru wasn't looking at him, she could sense that he had a question. "Sorry, Mr. Proper. Drac has to do something incredibly stupid before I start sharing embarrassing stories about our time together."

"You know, I have some embarrassing stories about _you_ ," the director reminded her with a snarl, probably to encourage silence.

Haru took up her knitting again. "Those are public knowledge, anyway. Here, I'll even tell him one; I was once dragged into a coffee shop-"

" _ **Not that one!**_ " Drac screamed in a panic.

"You aren't even in that story! Why should you care?!"

Baron could only shake his head in numb confusion as the two started fighting again. Most of the time they were able to keep conversation strictly to work, but there were obviously still hurt feelings on both sides.

Still…

"If you were less than satisfied with your time with Drac, why did you stay with him for so many years?" the feline managed to ask the second he was able to sneak a word in, only two of the staff having returned from the castle with matching pouts of disappointment.

As Haru turned to face him again, the director made that infernal sign that forced the cat's lips to clamp shut against his will.

' _I hate it when he does this!'_ Baron fumed.

"Because I thought the one thing we had in common was worth the headaches. And it was," she finished wistfully. "It was worth every aggravation Drac could throw at me."

Baron shuddered, more than certain that he didn't want more details, even if he could still ask for them. But he _did_ take a bit of pleasure from the director's frustration when it was time to shoot and the male lead still couldn't open his mouth.

ooOoo

"Yuki, slow down!" a wheezing bodyguard begged.

"Never!" she snapped, marching like a soldier down the beach with Toby on her heels, uneasy with his master's sour mood.

"It was only a test, Haru would have been fine," Renaldo struggled to gasp, falling a lot more behind the girl than he would have liked.

"Right, because it makes _so_ much more sense to try something stupid than to, say, question the one that's been with her for years with her guard down and isn't a manipulative rat! Mom's not like anyone else, but she isn't magical! _Being_ with her is magical!"

"Just what part of being with her do you consider magical?" he snapped, falling farther and farther behind his charge.

"Oh, gee, let me think about it for a second," Yuki responded with as much sarcasm as she could muster, although she had to stop long enough for Toby to do his business behind a large rock. "She was the first person to give me an honest chance when there was nothing in it for her, she can make me feel like I'm worth worlds with just a look or a hug, and she always, _always_ wants my input, which is more than I can say for any of _your_ kind!"

" **Our** kind," he corrected with a grimace, leaning against a different rock gratefully as they took a break from the enforced jog.

Yuki would have none of it. " _Yours_! I have nothing in common with you cats! For people that are still sore that my birth mother ran from her family with some guy to start a new life in a way that her family could never see her again, you sure are eager to make sure that I follow her example!"

Renaldo stopped cold with a horrified look, though the girl couldn't see how he didn't spot the similarities before. "… Yuki… it's not… This is different!"

"Yes, it is!" the girl was finally able to agree. "You wanted Louise to come back, and no one cared Mom left until she proved that she wasn't a loser! If everyone in your world thought that my first mom was a loser, would you have still tried to find her?!"

"Yuki! That was _too_ disrespectful!" he gasped in shock.

"So you wouldn't have?" she asked with a glare as her dog finished his business with a happy bark.

Renaldo seethed angrily, but forced himself to take a few breaths before answering between his teeth. "Louise… was considered an oddity by all because she preferred to act like a commoner instead of a duchess. I know she was a popular topic for discussion for all classes back then, but she was still respected enough for us to be wounded by her absence. Please be careful about how you bring this up again."

"You're not careful when talking about _Mom's_ feelings," she pointed out to the hypocrite.

The large babysitter flinched again. "But she's hiding things from you, too!" he desperately tried to tell her.

The girl couldn't keep herself from face palming with a growl. "Big fat **duh** , Renaldo!"

He gaped in surprise.

Yuki could only assume that no one spoke like that to their elders back in the Cat World. "Mom admitted before _adopting_ me that she was going to keep things from me until I turn twelve! Unlike you or anyone else on either of the worlds, **she** wants me to enjoy my childhood while I'm still a child!"

Renaldo couldn't stop staring at her, almost as if she were speaking Greek instead of English.

Now that she had his attention, she kept talking. " _That's_ why I don't care about her scent; she's already promised to tell me everything, and it's none of your business what she is! If you or **Baron** ever bothered to get to know _who_ she is, you wouldn't give a care, either!"

"But you still insist that she doesn't have any special power over you?" he asked again, trying to get close enough to rub an eager Toby's ears.

Yuki gently dragged the basset hound away from the babysitter, much to both of the males' disappointment as she resumed the jog. "It's called love, Renaldo. If any of your kind _**can**_ cure that, shame on all of you."


	21. Under the Mask

**Chapter Twenty One: Under the Mask**

 _Remember, the real lady is what's under the mask. Now go knock 'em dead._

 _-Miss Kitty, 'Fieval goes West'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Within the royal bedchambers, the dark queen rustled a bit as a newly familiar voice in her head interrupted needed rest._

" _ **Hey, Mom? Is it okay if I ask you something random?"**_ _young Yuki asked, fighting back the sleep in her voice as a feather mattress was being laid down on._

 _Sonya's eyes snapped on with shock. It was_ _ **unheard**_ _of for one to develop a mind link without seeing the person at least once first, and she could sense no secondary connection._

" _ **Of course, Sweetheart. What's on your mind?"**_ _the mermaid cooed lovingly._

 _Sonya could almost_ **see** _a tender embrace between the two snuggling on the bed before hearing the reply._

" _ **How often did you play a princess?"**_ _the little duchess asked, although the queen couldn't understand the curiosity._

 _Haru gave a sound that seemed to be a vocal equivalent of shrugging._ _ **"Surprisingly few times, and my favorite times were when I just plain ignored all the rules about what a princess is or isn't meant to do and focused on personally taking care of my people. It was a lot more common for me to play a commoner that fell in love with a baron and have the plot follow the complications that would come from that."**_

 _Sonya bit back a smile of amusement. She had been an orphaned pickpocket before soldiers brought her to the palace for the test that had changed her life. 'I should think that 'complications' is a mild way to put it, little mermaid.'_

" _ **But you did the usual level of research for princess roles, right?"**_ _the kitten pressed insistently._

" _ **You know I did. Since the States are a democracy, movie stars are often treated like royalty. Dad insisted that I learn how to behave in an actual court to boost my confidence long before visiting Mondorra and I've talked to enough royalty since then to get the idea of what it's like to be a royal."**_ _A rustle of the mattress was heard before the mermaid started whispering as if sharing a juicy piece of gossip._ _ **"Just between you and me, it's not even close to the picnic that marketing tries to sell."**_

 _Intrigued, the black-furred queen rolled onto one side and held her head with one hand to make sure she stayed awake through this. She wanted to be sure to interject if the conversation turned for the worse. 'Still, 'father'? Didn't Baron mention that she abandoned her family while still a youth?'_

" _ **Can you tell me more, Mom? I've been curious."**_

 _There was another rustle on the mattress as the mermaid adjusted herself and gave a thoughtful hum._ _ **"Hmm, let's see. First off, forget about privacy. There are always maids and hired hands around even when you send courtiers away, and it's just plain smart to assume that you are being spied on at all times."**_

" _A-men!" Sonya accidentally agreed out loud, making her husband groan and roll around in his sleep as well. She kept a hand over her mouth as his familiar arms snaked around her waist and pulled her tightly against him for a needy hug of his own. The elegant feline simply adjusted herself to a comfortable position, still listening in on Haru's insight while resting her head on her husband's chest._

" _ **Also, it's necessary that you are never truly alone because there's always the threat of kidnappers, assassins and worse that are just waiting for a moment of vulnerability. Albert had to learn the hard way why hide and seek is**_ **not** _ **a game for royalty."**_

 _Interesting. She was speaking of a royal without using a title. Just how well did she know him?_

" _ **So, yeah, you have to have bodyguards at all times both for your sake and for the country's. The royal family is often seen as a symbol for their people; the most important treasure the kingdom could possibly offer, so don't be shocked if princesses have more in common with a caged bird than a beauty contestant, even if they're occasionally let out for a parade or random celebration with the peasantry. But don't forget about all the lessons on protocol, language, customs, laws as well as keeping track of who has what rank and what is or is not within their right, because if you're not firm, they will walk all over you and then make you feel like trash when you try to call them on their behavior."**_

… _That's completely correct, Sonya had no choice but to conclude. It was years before any of the nobility could truly learn to accept her, despite the engagement to the crown prince that was now the proud father of her son. Never mind how difficult it was to stage a coup when the queen always knew who was telling the truth or not. It almost wasn't a day without her truth or magic skills being of some sort of use._

" _ **Short answer, Sweet Pea; being a princess or any member of a royal court is no job for sissies. Assuming that you aren't an irresponsible parasite that passes all duties to the servants, there are a hundred and one obligations. You'll be forced to do things you'd rather not in the name of peace, and there's a very good chance that it would cost you whatever sanity you have left since there's always the lingering chance that a family member or trusted friend will try to remove you by disgrace or death in order to get to the throne. And most annoying of all: even if you get lucky and marry someone you adore, your husband will more than likely be too busy to spend much time with you. That and you'll have your own long schedule cutting into 'alone time', to the point where you have to have nursemaids and nannies take care of any resulting children. You know, it always breaks my heart when I think of King George VI of England. At his coronation, both of his young daughters bowed to him as a king instead of greeting him as a father. According to the historians, that hurt him deeply. I don't know what I would do if you were that formal to me."**_

 _The little duchess laughed like her adoptive mother had told an excellent joke._ _ **"Yeah, I wouldn't plan on that happening any time soon. Your hugs are too warm."**_

 _A happy sigh of contentment flowed through Sonya's mind like a breeze, even if she was now frantically trying to think of something to sway Yuki back towards her son. 'Why,_ _ **why**_ _did the one person to completely understand how stressful my duties are have to be the one I need to separate my future daughter in law from?!' She'd give up tea time for one companion that sympathized this well!_

 _There was the gentle sound of a kiss being pressed to soft fur._ _ **"You know, this really is too much negativity to go to sleep to. I think it's only fair to tell you some of the better things I've seen about royalty."**_

 _To say that the Cat Queen was interested in the next sentence would have been an understatement._

" _ **Keep in mind, Snow Angel, I haven't met every royal in the world, so this only applies to ones I've actually had tea with or just talked to in an informal setting. Of the ones I've met, royalty can be some of the most loving, selfless, and loyal people you will ever be honored to meet. I feel ashamed that part of the reason I was terrified of meeting Queen Cassandra was because the old man loved using royal metaphors for himself and Vicky when making sure that I knew my 'place' as their unwanted slave. Very few things have pleased me more than the fact that actual royals are so much better company than those that feel entitled to the role. I'm pretty sure that Drac is all the confirmation I need for that remark."**_

 _Sonya couldn't help the wave of relief and gratitude that flooded her body from the pure sincerity soaked through every syllable._

" _ **I'd have loved to be closer friends with any of them, but the simple fact is, they have their duties, I have mine, and only rarely do they intersect. I have a standing invitation to more than one royal abode when I happen to be in the neighborhood, so other than a bit of embarrassment, we would have been fine if we had gone to Mondorra and I found out the hard way that Albert didn't propose to his girlfriend." A slightly naughty giggle followed the statement. "It would have been even funnier if he was about to, and then I go and offer congratulations to her before he says anything about it! Meh, no one would have been shocked if my unexpected visit started with a better joke than normal. As well as a lawsuit for Drac for using their name to manipulate me out into the open. I can imagine at least Albert having a few words about that, marriage plans or not. Speaking of which, remind me to have Bruce pass onto them that Drac did that. He might have already, but it doesn't hurt to be sure."**_

… _This was indeed informative. There wasn't so much as a hint that the mermaid was lying, so she obviously knew how to behave herself when the occasion demanded it. There was also absolutely no trace of bitterness over a prince choosing a mate other than herself. Sonya tried to leave her thoughts for now, since Haru was still talking and she didn't want to miss a word._

" _ **As far as I can tell, Sweetness, there's only one thing would make becoming a royal worth all the hassle. If you were sincerely in love with a royal, and completely understood what you were getting into beforehand… actually, now that I think about it, that's true of any relationship. Just store that in your memory for me, okay? Sincere love and understanding is the best foundation for any relationship."**_

"… _**Thanks, Mommy. This helps a lot. I sure am lucky to have you to tell me these things."**_

 _That was almost certainly directed at the queen, if the child wasn't making certain that her uncle was also listening in._

" _ **My pleasure, Sweetness. But why were you asking about princess specifics?"**_

 _Sonya felt a terrible chill along her spine. Yuki couldn't lie out of such a direct question, but she promised not to tell yet!_

 _But the little duchess was already prepared for the question._ _ **"I've been thinking about Cinderella a lot lately. Even if she was happy to renounce her old life, that had to be a pretty big change. I've just been wondering if she ever had any regrets about marrying a guy she shared one night of dancing with, prince or not."**_

 _The queen gave a soft smirk. 'You'll have longer than that to know my son.'_

"… _**Yuki? I don't think I ever hid from you that I used to laugh at people that believe in love at first sight. I was nice and vocal about it before laying eyes on you. Don't count on it happening, but keep in mind that it can and will happen when you least expect it. If love is strong enough, you'll do whatever it takes to make things work out. Besides, who's to say that Cinderella and her prince didn't have a long engagement or spent at least part of that night talking?"**_

' _Which would be much more advisable than immediately arranging a wedding.' The queen's engagement had lasted the six years necessary for her to finish growing up._

 _The next question from her future daughter-in-law was almost impish._ _ **"So, does that mean you'll change your mind about a daddy for me if the right one comes along? You did say you were just as opposed to adoption as romance before we met."**_

 _A long terrible silence followed, strangely louder than the words echoing through Sonya's mind._

 _When the mermaid was finally able to speak again, there was only a sad helplessness in her tone._ _ **"… When you turn twelve, you'll learn why it would be a beyond bad idea for me to… try dating again. Actual dating instead of hanging out and calling it a date. I shouldn't have even done the hanging out, but… Well, I've already explained about that. Until such time as I can successfully make friends without having to impress the snot of them first, I have no business even thinking about romance. I'm sorry, Snow Angel, but you'll just have to be content with calling my male friends 'uncle'."**_

 _That did it. There was something fishy about a mermaid that would speak so_ _ **purely**_ _of love, but for one to practice abstinence?! Not only that, but if she truly wanted Baron under her power, one song would be all she needed. Surely he would have heard her sing at least once after three months of making a musical with her._

 _The Cat Queen nearly started laughing again at the thought of her tone-deaf friend having anything to do with_ _ **music**_ _._

 _Even the sweet song that lulled both child and queen back to sleep didn't sound anything at all like it was coming from a siren…_

xxXxx

"I don't think Miss Haru is really a mermaid."

King Phoebus gave his queen an incredulous look the next morning as he pulled on his second sock. "If you were anyone else, my love, I would ask if that was a joke or skipped to laughing."

Queen Sonya merely shook her head. "Yuki ensured that I would overhear a private conversation last night after her adoptive mother returned to their room."

"Wait, what?!" the much bigger long hair asked, leaving off tying his boots for now. "But the spell barriers, the required permission!"

His patient wife could only raise her hands in confusion. "Baron's niece stepped over them while half-asleep. I don't know how, but the fact remains that even if Miss Haru is a mermaid, she clearly doesn't share her kind's mentality. Darling, she's confessed to being on good terms with more than one royal house. I give my word as a truth seer that she wasn't lying."

Phoebus stared at his wife, his mismatched eyes of fire and ice turning wider with shock. "But… _mermaid_! By definition, she's a troublemaker!"

His queen leaned against a bedpost, still lost in thought. "So why does she have respect from multiple heads of state? My love, there's something odd about the one raising Baron's niece, and we should find out what it is before deciding whether or not Miss Haru should be forbidden from the kingdom."

"We don't need her, though!" he insisted.

Sonya gave him a light glare. "No, we don't. Yuki does. I think if we voice our case just right, we could reach an understanding with Miss Haru. There may still be a way around what that monster has in store for her."

About ready to lose his patience, Phoebus folded his arms at her with a glare. "Give me one good reason why we should get involved in something that Baron as already assured me he has well in hand."

The short haired queen crossed her own arms at him. "I'll give you a list. One, Miss Haru broke Binder yesterday morning. By accident."

His mouth fell open with surprise.

She held up two fingers to emphasize her point. "Two, Yuki has promised to make herself as much of a nuisance as possible if we try or allow them to be separated. Three, what I overheard last night was enough to convince me that Miss Haru would support a match between our son and-"

"Hold on! What was that?!" he demanded with surprise.

Sonya held a hand to her mouth in mortification. "Oh dear, that one slipped out. Very well; about Baron's niece…"

ooOoo

Yuki frowned, kicking her slipper-covered feet in the air as she rested stomach down on the bed. She chewed on the end of her mechanical pencil thoughtfully, but no words were coming to her mind. A heavy sigh escaped her throat. "Dang it, Toby; why can't writing songs be as simple as writing an essay?"

The basset hound in question barely answered outside of a soft yowl that was more of a yawn, more than happy to be cuddled at her side.

Since chewing on the pencil wasn't helping, the little girl started tapping the end against her temple, as if to turn on her creativity. "Drat my sensibilities; this kind of writing is more art than information."

"Yuki? Yuki, precious," a familiar voice called out to her from her mother's vanity, making Toby sit up and bark in confusion.

The girl didn't bother turning around in order to answer, still absently kicking her feet in the air. "Sorry, Aunt Hilary; no contact until Mom says Baron apologized. Two more days, and I tell her everything. But do you know any good words that rhyme with 'mine'?"

"Hmm, line, kind, sign, mind would be too similar-"

"Lady Gikkingen!" an older harsher voice snapped, making the child sit up a little with surprise.

Come to think of it, there was background noise to hint that it wasn't just the two cats now watching her. Yuki turned around in order to see that her mirror was somehow overlooking what looked like the entire feline court, staring back at her like they couldn't believe their own eyes. The only tom that looked cranky was the one wearing a strange purple gem on his forehead. He was one of the only three cats wearing a long royal robe, but Yuki was careful not to pay attention to the younger tom.

Hilary laughed a little nervously, standing closer to the mirror than most of the other felines. "Oh, my apologies, your majesty. Precious, today is a very special day of filming for Haru. We would like you to witness what's to come."

"Enough for everyone in the court to watch? Wait, today's when she takes on the hydra, right?" Yuki asked with a gleeful smile, bouncing of the bed happily, making her hound swiftly follow suit. "Boy, I hope she remembered her knives!"

"Wait, you knew of the hydra? How?!" the tawny feline demanded as her niece ran over and tried to make herself comfortable on the vanity's little bench.

Scowling a bit, she hopped back off in order to collect her books for more leverage. "Mom was asking if Drac was going to use a puppet for the hydra scene when we were traveling up here, remember? If the whole court is watching, that has to mean that she's going to fight a real one!"

"You seem unnaturally happy for one so attached to your adopted mother," the king stated suspiciously.

Yuki finished stacking the books before using a trace of her power to set herself up high enough for a good view. "Well, sure! I've wanted to see Mom in full action for **years**! You cats have no idea the treat you're in for! Uncle Bruce says people pay top dollar to see what Mom can do!" she informed them while setting Toby on the vanity motioning for him to sit. _'It's one of the few things he doesn't lie about.'_

She could see more than a few courtiers step away from the mirror at the sight of her dog but didn't worry about it.

The king was one of the first to recover, though he still seemed grim. "I'm certain it will be… an _enlightening_ experience. Now, in order to change the focus onto your adoptive mother-"

"I'll give it a try, your majesty." Keeping one hand on Toby's back, she pressed her hand against the ice-cold glass, refocusing the magic within on thoughts of her beloved mother.

The mirror briefly filled with soft pink mist before clearing to reveal _her mother and uncle nearing a cave's mouth by the ocean's edge. Baron was on high alert, every muscle wound tight as the brunette nearly stuck as close to him as his own shadow. The cameras were surprisingly few and far from the two, and the microphones disguised as rocks were able to catch their every word._

" _So this is the place?" Haru asked in her 'lost kitten' voice, using an accent that flawlessly mirrored Baron's as they attempted to sneak into the cave with no one the wiser._

" _According to my memory, yes. Be warned that the guardian is not one to be trifled with, so stay behind me at all costs," he instructed firmly while keeping the lead._

Yuki couldn't help giggling at his sincerity as Toby tried to lick their reflections in the mirror with a needy whimper.

"Ack- What is so funny, young kitten?!" the king demanded through the mirror, like he didn't expect her to catch onto the magic trick so easily.

"Baron honestly thinks Mom needs him to protect her. Oh, he's earned this so _bad_!" Her attention was solely fixed _on the two as they eased into the cave opening._

 _At first, there was nothing unusual to be seen. There was more careful lighting and hidden cameras, but strangely no camera men waiting for them within. Probably to keep them out of the upcoming battle._

 _Haru's confusion seemed genuine as she looked around. "I don't see anyone. Is the guardian out hunting?"_

" _We'll soon find out. Now hush." Baron knelt down and grabbed a rock before unsheathing his sword._

 _As instructed, Haru stayed behind him, though her expression was still more curious than afraid. With a practiced flair, Baron threw the rock against the bronze shield hanging over the back wall of the cave._

 _The consequence immediately became apparent as that entire wall shattered to the ground like broken glass curtain, revealing a much bigger cave beyond them._

 _A large purple scaled beast, curled up tight in slumber, swiftly uncoiled itself to raise its ugly heads and give an ear-splitting shriek at the intruders._

Yuki's blood ran cold despite herself as she jumped at the sound. Toby's reaction was more violent, barking savagely while resting his front paws on the mirror. He pushed on the glass desperately, as if trying to break a mirror to rush to his older master's side.

Protect her if he only could.

"Come on, Mom," Yuki whispered urgently, using a tiny bit of her power to pull the basset hound down and into one arm so that she could have an easier time keeping a hand on the sight spell, no matter how much she agreed with him.

 _Baron rushed at the beast, taking a brave swipe at one of the legs. All three of the heads screamed at him, one head coming at him while the other two came at him from different directions. He tried to side-step out of the way, but he forgot to take into account that the hydra had claws as well as heads._

 _As soon as the cat's body was knocked against the distant cave's wall, he was out cold._

" **No**! Humbert!" Hilary screamed fearfully. "Our magic can't help him from this side of the barrier! Renaldo, Thomas; go help him immediately!"

"On it!" the guard answered from outside Yuki's door, already running down the hall despite how far he'd _have_ to run and at least steal a horse from the stables. Too bad his magic was more focused on strength and taste sensitivity than teleportation.

"Come on, Mom!" Yuki cheered as _the brunette unsheathed a pair of long daggers from her sleeves and gave a shriek that was a nearly perfect imitation of the hydra's voice._

 _That provided the distraction needed for the large purple monster to stop lumbering to where Baron had fallen, turning the attention to the rapidly approaching woman for now._

 _She gave another shriek, confirming that she was the true challenger while driving a dagger into the left claw._

 _It raised its claw in outrage, but Haru merely held onto the blade, letting herself be lifted into the air until she could use the momentum to backflip onto the hydra's back just behind the necks._

 _Wasting no time, she buried her other dagger into the base of the necks again and again as a familiar crow flew into the cave with an angry scream of his own._

"No, no, you fool! Thrice as many heads will grow back if you sever these!" an unfamiliar voice barked through the mirror.

Toby barked back, unwilling to be silent as he tried to escape the telekinetic hold.

"Don't question Mom's monster lore; she knows what she's doing!" Yuki barked back, though wincing at the amount of blood that gushed out when _her mother removed the blade from the series of cuts on the neck. It was a deep penetration, but only enough to slow it down as two heads turned enough to charge at her. The third one was distracted by the claws of a very angry crow digging into its eye sockets._

 _Ducking one head completely, the brunette grabbed onto one of the spikes coming out of the back of the other head, yet again stealing a ride before stabbing at both eyes and then the nostrils._

Yuki had to fight the bile threatening to rise, unable to tear her eyes away from the brutality. Even her ears became deaf to Toby's outrage.

 _The third head dove in to save the mangled one, but Haru took the chance of holding onto the neck with just her legs so that she could swiftly grab a small vial from her bodice, uncork it with her teeth, and toss it directly down the open maw while simultaneously slicing off the tongue of the second head when it screamed a little too close to her. But such a close encounter to that giant mouth cost her a long slice along one leg from a jagged tooth, partially ripping her long brown skirt to reveal to the world the long scars already decorating her pale legs, as well as another set of daggers just in case._

 _But not even that was enough to break her concentration, pulling yet another dagger out from behind her own neck for her next assault as every hydra head was now screaming in agony, though the one that had swallowed the vial looked like it should have been in the least amount of pain. Blood was now shooting from every jaw thanks to the gaping wounds below the necks. Those cuts were sucking in the blood that was leaking out and letting it flow down its chest in time with its haggard breathing. Thomas kept doing his best to keep one head occupied at all times, but even he seemed unnerved by how competent Haru was proving herself in this line of work._

The girl forced her hand off the mirror, jumping off the vanity's bench and running to the bathroom to empty everything she had eaten in the last week. Toby landed on the carpet with little more than a grunt. But since the mirror was now reflecting the royal court, he was a lot more interested in following his younger master into the bathroom; communicating his distress with worried whimpers and confused barks.

"She's not fighting like an amateur," Hilary whispered in shock, perfectly audible as her niece retched into the toilet.

"Ech! Of course not!" Yuki screamed before washing her mouth out with a few handfuls of water. "She's been surrounded by monsters her whole life! She knows what to do!"

"Ew, what is she trying to find in the hydra?!" a random courtier demanded while trying not to throw up himself.

"No elaboration! The child can still hear!" the queen ordered, much to Yuki's relief.

She took the time to brush her teeth and help herself to her mother's mouthwash before shakily resuming her seat, keeping Toby in her arms like a security blanket. "Don't… just let me know when it's over, okay? It's no wonder Mom didn't want me to see that yet."

The mirror had already been adjusted by the teen tom wearing a cape, and he had an ungloved finger on the glass while giving her a nervous smile. "This is only to deafen you to everything but myself from this side." He snuck a peek at something next to her mirror and winced. "I promise you that the fight's only gotten worse."

Toby tried to lean closer for a curious sniff, making the prince awkwardly try to back away while keeping the needed finger on the glass.

"Just chill, will you? Even if Toby could get to you, the only one he's ever tried to attack without permission is Drac. Or anything that threatens me or Mom. His heart's in the right place." She cuddled her hound lovingly while his familiar tongue caressed her face.

The prince seemed grossed out by the dog's affection, but still managed a forced smile. "He, ah, seems quite fond of you."

"I raised him since he was a week old with Mom's help. Didn't I, boy?" she cooed, making him bark happily. "The three of us are a _very_ happy little family."

The prince flinched at the emphasis. "Families can grow, though."

She cuddled her basset hound a little more possessively. "Don't plan on it if you try to prune my mom or dog out. They're my world, and I'll die before renouncing them."

He seemed taken aback by her firm tone. "I never asked that of you."

"My 'uncle' has. Today had better make him change his mind," she griped under her breath.

The dark-furred prince looked toward the other mirror, but looked away while covering his mouth desperately to keep himself from throwing up. He took a good long moment to compose himself before glancing at her nervously. "You're absolutely certain that you're a truth seer?"

Although it wasn't her usual title, the child still nodded. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Mom. She's known about it."

His mismatched eyes widened in horror. "You _told_ her?"

Yuki could only roll her eyes at his reaction. "More like she was the one that figured out why certain people or subjects triggered my headaches. She knows better than to just say so to anyone that asks, though. Drac would probably try to have me killed if he knew."

The prince flinched in horror at the possibility before regaining his composure. "Still, it may be best if you take the test."

Yuki set her jaw stubbornly. "Not happening until my demands are met. Final offer."

"But I don't know what your demands are," he begged a little helplessly, but she refused to back down.

"Ask my 'uncle' for details. Um, how close do you think Mom is to done with the hydra?" she asked a little hesitantly.

He risked another look, but quickly returned his gaze to the younger girl, almost looking a little green under his fur. "She is… working on the finishing blow. At least I hope she is. The hydra won't be getting back up after this."

"You're sure?" she tried to press, but the prince nodded as firmly as he could manage without throwing up.

"Very. I refuse to elaborate. Oh good, it _is_ over," he sighed, finally taking his finger off the glass.

It was only then that Yuki could hear that the feline court was in hysterics, frantically talking amongst themselves until her mother's voice rang out like a bell, surprisingly mournful for one who had won a battle to the death. Even the freaked-out king and queen hushed to hear her reaction to fighting a hydra.

" _Sorry, Scales. But_ _ **I'm**_ _top monster around here."_

Yuki's heart broke at the complete sincerity her mother felt at the statement. "Please excuse me." She hopped back off the bench to start hunting around the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" the prince called out.

"Looking for Mom's first aid kit. She always makes sure to keep- ah ha!" Yuki pulled the large white briefcase from the bathroom cabinet. She wasted no time dragging it out and towards the bedroom door. "See you-"

The prince didn't let her finish. "Please save yourself the effort, Yuki. Your aunt left a few minutes ago to gather medical help and such. I'm sure she'll be begging you to pull cats to your side of the barrier soon."

Though relieved that he was telling the truth, she set the case down to sit on it. "She has five minutes before I walk out the door."

"I doubt it will take-" the teen tom tried to assure her before they were interrupted.

Yuki's cell phone rang out the Flower Waltz, making her jump up in surprise before checking the Caller I.D. She bit her lip nervously while answering. "Hi, Mom. What's up?"

"Hey, Sweetie," her mother answered, clearly shaken but trying to cover it up. "Would you mind passing the phone to Renaldo? I stupidly never thought to ask for his number."

Her heart turned cold, though she was grateful that no cat was so much as letting a pin drop. "U-um…"

Haru was too impatient to wait. "Yuki, I love you, but it's important that I talk to him as soon as possible. Just slip the phone through a door crack."

"H-he's… gone. But he didn't abandon me!" Yuki was quick to add before her mother could turn her rage onto the large cat. "He got word that Baron was in trouble and ran off to help. Please don't get mad! The door's still locked and everything!"

A sigh of relief was eventually heard. "… This is even better than I was hoping for. Did he know where to go?"

"I hope so, but he didn't say," was all the girl could think of.

It was enough to pacify her mother. "Cross your fingers, then. I really do need him to be here as soon as possible. Keep the door locked, don't open it for anyone but me."

Yuki couldn't help but curse how selfless her mother was. "You don't sound so good, Mom. Do you need the case?"

"I'll use it when I get up there. I'll be maybe a half hour, Sweetness, so don't worry. I've got everything under control."

There was a slight tinge of a lie, but not enough to really hurt.

"I'll talk to you soon, Snow Angel. I love you."

The tinge was immediately replaced by a warm blanket of sincerity.

Yuki let that sincerity wrap around her before bidding farewell. "I love you too, Mom. Don't do anything stupid."

Her mother gave a harsh laugh while shutting off the phone, never suspecting that her daughter could hear the response from the vanity mirror.

" _ **Years**_ _too late for that one."_

ooOoo

Thomas stood up a little straighter on the boulder as Haru turned her gaze to him with a soft smile, pocketing the communication device.

"Real help's already on the way, but would you mind doing me an extra favor?" the strange woman asked, still trying to keep her voice and limbs steady.

"Caw." _'At this point, I'd do anything she asked.'_

She managed a grim smile. "Peck out the eyes of anyone other than Renaldo that tries to get too close to Baron."

He managed an evil smile around his beak. "Caw _caw_!" _'I was planning on that anyway.'_

Haru gave him another warm smile, even as she curled into a tighter ball next to the fallen lord. She did the little she could to keep her exposed legs covered and to brush her shortened hair out of her large eyes; anything to make herself look less like a cut-up doll as her eyes kept darting to the cat she had just saved from being eaten alive. "To-Thomas! I know full well you came to help your friend, but… don't expect me to be any less grateful. That fight would have ended differently without you."

The crow _wanted_ to land on her shoulder and show her he was grateful for her refusal to leave Baron to the danger. But there was a long gash running along her left shoulder from one of the hydra's talons when it grabbed her no-longer flowing head fur. Even if he landed on the other shoulder, he knew from experience that it would still pain her. That, and the poor woman was covered in blood, both her own and her opponent's.

He cast his black eyes back to the mangled remains of the hydra, and to the giant heart she had just torn out of it to ensure its death. He wanted to shake his head in disbelief that the rumors were true about this childish, confusing, and scrawny mermaid.

She truly was a monster slayer of the highest merit.

"Greg!" Haru suddenly called out, startling Thomas enough to see the filming staff filter into the cave from the front entrance.

Though the lad was clearly shaken from the gory scene, he wasn't foolish enough to keep her waiting, running forward ahead of the medical crew as the brown hair forced herself to stand and pull out the communication device once more.

She played with it a little while taking several limping steps forward, using one hand to gently drag Greg close by the front of his shirt as soon as he was in range. " _Be a dear and keep the screen locked on me and_ _ **him**_ _,_ " she whispered softly in a tone that any sane male would know better than to cross.

He nodded while looking terrified and taking the device from her. Not even the blood smeared on it and his shirt was enough to make him disobey her wishes.

Haru managed another grim smile as she turned away and began a terrible march. "Oh, and don't step any closer to Baron. Toto has orders."

The young intern nodded again, stealing a nervous glance at the crow in question before holding her possession up. The crow could see a smaller version of Haru within the device, marching towards the company like a soldier in spite of the gash in her leg.

Thomas didn't see the look she gave the doctors that had tried to step close enough to start talking, but now he had no doubts that it was scary enough to warrant taking several steps back until she could reach the director.

"That was beautifully done, Haru! But you forgot to sing-" Drac tried to inform her but was interrupted by the prima donna slamming a fist into his jaw hard enough for a sharp cracking sound to fill the cave, soon followed by a scream of pure _agony_.

Haru stood over the fallen director, her fists shaking as she glared at the man hatefully before yelling at the top of her lungs.

" **It's days like this that make me ashamed that I ever called you my** _ **brother**_ **!** "

xxXxx

A/N: This is the last chapter the betas were given. But since I've been a good girl, this won't be going on a hiatus on account of my laziness and overabundance of nieces and nephews that want sweaters for Christmas.

It might be paused later when I run out of finished chapters, but hopefully I'll stop being a lazy bum before then.


	22. Our Actions

**Chapter Twenty Two: Our Actions**

 _It is our actions, Harry, more than our abilities that make us who we are._

 _-Albus Dumbledore, 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Once the yellow light changed into green, the door unlocked itself for Haru to push open. "Whatever you do, don't touch anything and stay by my side. I don't want you hurting yourself."_

 _Five-year-old Yuki's mouth dropped open as her mother led her into an_ _ **armory**_ _! There were guns, swords, knives, boxes with pictures of bullets all artistically hanging up on the walls and display cases like a museum._

… _Was that a collection of whips in the corner?! And why did one of them look like her mother had duck taped a bunch of whips together?! She couldn't even worry about that high-pitched sound that meant that someone had left a few dots around this room._

" _Do you know how to use all this?" the girl managed to ask, only staying next to the older woman thanks to a firm hold on her hand._

" _Every bit of it, some of them for work," her mother admitted with a shamed face, turning a corner to reveal some bows, arrows, and crossbows. "I've… well, being a damsel in distress hasn't worked for me since before I grew a backbone, and even then, I was more miserable than I wanted to let anyone know. It's a relief not having to worry about what happens when someone does something stupid, but it does get tiresome when people are too afraid to speak or want to be around me."_

 _Yuki forced herself to look away from an intimidating spear to rub her cheek against that smooth hand. "I'm not afraid, Mommy."_

 _Haru stopped long enough to pick her up and squeeze her again and press a few kisses to her snow-like hair that was finally reaching a normal yet short length for a girl. That same feeling of safety and happiness was the only thing she could feel in those loving arms._

" _You know, Sweetheart? I think you have the idea that I can keep you safe no matter what happens. How about we go see the next floor?" her mother suggested with a loving croon._

 _Yuki only nodded, resting her head against that comfy shoulder as Haru carried her out of the armory and down the next set of stairs._

xxXxx

 _Baron Humbert von Gikkingen was in pain. Not the worst he had ever been in, but enough to know that his entire body was going to be sore for some time. He could hear the distant sounds of war, yet he could not force his limbs to move. It was almost as if he were a prisoner of his own body._

 _Thankfully, the fight stopped after a while, and he finally noticed something like a shadow hovering over him. But he was not worried by the company as it joined his side. On the contrary, he could feel nothing but concern and hope coming from the guardian angel. It was strange, but… with all of his defenses down, he found himself clinging to the presence with his mind the way he once clung to his mother's skirt on dark stormy nights._

 _He didn't know why he was so certain of his safety, but nothing could dissuade him about the one keeping such careful watch over him in this vulnerable state. Words were useless; the company alone was enough to soothe his troubled heart._

 _Without warning, he could feel the comforting presence withdrawing from him, sending the feline lord into a blind panic as he tried to reach out to her, pull her close once again._

' _Wait, where are you going?! I still need you!'_

" **It's days like this that make me ashamed that I ever called you my** _ **brother**_ **!** "

Baron's eyes snapped open, first seeing the cave's stalactites far above him and Thomas on a nearby boulder. But his friend wasn't looking at him. Forcing himself to turn his head enough, his mouth fell open in astonishment.

The hydra was dead; mutilated and gutted like an animal for the harvest slaughter. Blood was still oozing across the cave's floor, though it would be a good fifteen minutes before it would reach where he had fallen. The massacre had been barbaric, but who-

His thoughts were diverted by a mangled scream from the bane of his existence, forcing his attention to… something he had to see to truly believe.

Haru looked nearly as torn to pieces as the hydra, drenched from head to toe in mixed blood and her simple dress barely hanging onto her form from all the rips it had taken. Her once long flowing hair was now crudely hacked off to just below her ears, which explained the long strands floating in the hydra's blood. He would have paid attention to the long white scars on her legs and back as well as the ones he had already seen on her arms if she weren't currently breaking Drac's left wrist with her bare hands.

" _ **This**_ **is for tricking me out of my house!** _ **This**_ **is for using Prince Albert's name to do it!** _ **This**_ **is for making sure I had an accident while my daughter was in the car!** _ **This**_ **is for making me drop the restraining order!** "

Right wrist, left arm, right arm. With each offense she named, she broke another bone with her bleeding hands, making the director scream through a… broken jaw?

… Did she say _'brother'_ when he woke up?!

" _ **This**_ **is for not telling me that you got your hands on a real hydra!** _ **This**_ **is for not making sure I trained ahead of time and had the proper weaponry!** _ **This**_ **is for almost getting Baron killed!** _ **This is for expecting me to sing through the fight!**_ "

Two breaks to each leg, one on the thigh and one on the calf. With each chilling snap of bone, Baron realized just how patient she's been with him the past three and a half months since that first meeting.

'… _It's true. The slaying rumors were all true!'_ he acknowledged with a dawning horror.

She waited to scream at the director until her victim's cries were a little less deafening. "Did you **bother** to research hydras before getting your hands on one?! Even _**Hercules**_ needed help defeating one of these beasts, did you think about that?! If I didn't keep daggers on me at all times or if Toto hadn't come to help, both Baron and I would be **dead**! About the only thing you did right about any of this was to make sure that everyone else stayed away until it was safe! _We are not your old set of tinker toys, you spoiled brat!_ You can't just play with lives and expect no repercussions if someone gets broken! I have been turning a blind eye to your selfish behavior for far too long **just** because our father is the greatest man I ever had the honor to meet, but I have _had it_! Want to know why no one's rushing to save you from my wrath?!"

' _Because by shattering his jaw, wrists, and arms, you have made it impossible for him to give or communicate commands for at least several months,'_ Baron thought before immediately feeling a large burden lift from his shoulders, nearly making him forget about his aches and pains.

"Because you don't _**pay**_ them enough to care about you!" Haru screamed the answer to her own question, giving his torso a good kick with one foot to crack a rib as well. "Let's face it; you definitely don't pay them enough to come against **me**! Like it or not, I'm the only person still alive that's ever tried to be there for you _because that's what real families do_!"

Through her screams, Baron began to catch the distinctive scent of tears.

"I did everything I could to be a good influence on you, to be your big sister! **But you wouldn't let me be your sister because you refuse to be satisfied with what's given to you!** _You want me to be the obedient puppet I was when Dad found me! No matter how much you think you loved her, Harry Jones isn't coming back, and the world is a safer place for it!"_

Reaching down, she grabbed a big fistful of his expensive shirt and heaved his head closer with an undoubtedly dark look. Baron could smell the urine from this far away, confirming that despite the rat's bravado, he truly was afraid of the mermaid.

With good reason!

" **So help me, Drac; if you endanger anyone for your stupid movie or anything else so recklessly again, especially Baron, you had better** _pray_ **that my daughter is watching, because that's the only way I'll consider making your death swift and painless! Remember;** _ **this**_ **is how easy it will be for me to end this disagreement** _ **once and for all because I'm** done **with your games!**_ **If you try to contact me before both of our wounds are healed, I'll end it even quicker** _ **!**_ "

With that, she rudely dropped the broken human onto the stone floor before turning to the doctors. All of them took an additional ten steps from her with horrified expressions.

She gave a grunt of irritation. "Oh, please. As if any of you are _that_ shocked. Forward his medical bills to me; it was worth every penny. No, I **don't** require your help," she forcefully informed the one doctor that tried to get close enough to press a clean cloth to her mangled hide.

Unlike the professionals that Baron was familiar with, the human was immediately cowed into backing away with a fearful expression and joining the other doctors around the fallen director.

"Did you catch all that, Greg?" Haru called, limping closer to the fallen lord.

The human standing a bit in front of him nodded, tapping the phone before holding it out with a shaky hand.

She came forward enough to claim it and immediately started tapping on the glass, "Thank you for doing that. I was about ready to ask Toto to hold it with a wing. Oh good, you finally made it, Renaldo!"

Baron was just able to look to the opening, where his old friend was panting and staring at the massacre in front of him.

Chillingly, Haru's tone could have been mistaken for gossiping about the weather. "Baron got knocked around a bit, but I can't tell if he has a concussion. I want you to make sure he's properly taken care of since you doubtlessly have experience with this sort of thing."

Renaldo had more than enough experience, but he had trouble taking his eyes off the mutilated hydra.

"Snap out of it! Humbert needs you!" Haru barked when he took too long to obey her.

Renaldo blinked before forcing himself to stagger tiredly to his lord, kneeling down to check for wounds the same way he would at jousting tournaments.

It was only then that Haru noticed that Baron was awake. She flinched back from his shocked gaze, forcing herself to look at his friend instead. "Renaldo? I believe there's a bit of unfinished business between us as well. The way I remember it, I skipped on the threats about what I'm willing to do if anything happens to Yuki. Would you consider **this** a good enough threat?" she asked, roughly jabbing a thumb behind her at both the director being carefully loaded onto a stretcher and the mutilated hydra.

Renaldo paled but was able to make himself answer through a bad tremble. "Threats were never needed. But… yes. This is more than enough."

"Excellent," she approved while turning away and tapping on her phone.

"Wait," Baron croaked, just managing to sit up with his friend's help.

She answered while exiting the cave and still tapping on her phone; not bothering to look behind her. "Don't worry about me, Mr. Proper. My scars should explain how much experience I have sewing my own carcass back together."

' _That is_ _ **horrifying**_ _. But don't worry about her,'_ Queen Sonya assured him, making him finally remember that the entire court had been watching this embarrassing affair. _'Help is coming for her as well, thanks to your niece.'_

' _Thank codfish. Who?'_

ooOoo

Hilary kept one eye on her compact mirror as Yuki pulled Julia through the vanity mirror.

" _Hey, Bruce. I know this is earlier than my standard time to call, but… oh,_ _ **thank you**_ _! Can I talk you into making sure the video I just sent you hits the internet before it gets 'corrupted' or anything else? Meh, just me breaking Drac into pieces and promising to kill him if he endangers anyone again. Yeah, you could say that," Haru answered evasively as she marched out of the cave and walked around some large rocks to shield herself from the view of anyone that might try to follow her._

"Three down, one to go," Yuki reported after she helped Julia safely down the vanity and reached into the mirror for Robert. Hilary nodded, keeping her attention on her compact mirror.

 _Haru kept talking into the device as she calmly strode into the ocean until she was up to her neck, letting the salt water wash her clean. "No, I can pretty much promise that Drac's going to be leaving everyone alone for awhile. Can't; he's nailed my foot to the floor. I'm the only one he's willing to fear, and someone has to make sure everyone gets back to their real lives, especially Baron." Haru listened, her face becoming grim as Bruce explained something too soft to be heard over the ocean waves. "Bites to be him, then, because Baron's choices at this point are 'deal with the fact that I care about him', or 'deal with the fact that I care about him_ _ **gracefully**_ _.' Either way won't change my stance on the matter."_

The feline lady couldn't keep a worshipful smile from crossing her lips.

"Okay, we're all here. As one," Timothy instructed as everyone held onto a small ruby pendant hanging around their necks.

One press of the thumb, and the four cats in the room rippled into four humans instead.

Hilary was forced to momentarily brace herself against a bedpost; not liking the lack of balance that a tail had always assured. One hand automatically came up to feel her bare cheek and strangely-shaped nose in wonder.

"You'd best hurry," Julia insisted, sitting on the bed with one arm around Yuki, though she was keeping a nervous eye on the little dog in the girl's arms.

"Straight away. My lady?" Timothy asked while picking up his large medical bag.

Hilary nodded, making the two toms draw close enough for her teleportation spell to work. Holding her compact mirror to her heart, she focused with all her might on the trees just in sight of the ocean, to keep her brother's savior's suspicions low.

" _Yes, he was worth it! Beside the point, Bruce; you've seen me do this kind of thing for complete strangers! Hold that thought for a second," Haru asked her_ … what was Bruce to her, again? The rat had lied about his own relationship with her, so maybe her niece's godfather wasn't a semi-continued lover.

Hilary and her two friends wasted no time rushing forward to where they could see the mermaid's hand keeping her possession out of the water, and nothing else at first. After a minute or so she bobbed her head out from the ocean's surface and using her free hand to rub the remainder of the blood off her face and head fur. More than blood was rubbed off, revealing a long scar along her jaw and a smaller one on her left cheekbone.

All the while, Haru kept talking as if there truly was nothing noteworthy of being the first being in history to kill a hydra without an ounce of magic or magical assistance. "Um, maybe? Bruce, I'm a big girl. I've gone through this more times than you've changed your socks, and I've got the scars to prove it. They're not… I'm in salt water right now, that will help prevent infections!"

"I will be able to help you more than salt water can," Timothy called to her, already spreading a blanket over a boulder and opening his bag.

Haru turned enough to notice the speaker, but it was Hilary her eyes locked on. "What are you _doing_ here?!" she demanded in a heartbeat, forgetting about her previous conversation as she fought to keep her voice in a low hiss in case anyone else was leaving the cave. "Drac is an unrepentant rat, he doesn't need to know about you!"

The disguised feline nearly dropped her mouth in surprise. "You… _know_ who I am?"

"Hilary. Who else would you be? That's between us, Bruce, no talking to anyone. I'll explain when I'm not on a phone since it's no secret this is being tapped anymore. Yes, but- I said no!"

"I hate to interrupt your conversation, but your wounds need to be treated before you bleed out completely. Come now; out of the water," the elderly family doctor insisted the same as he always did with a reluctant patient.

"Look, I appreciate the offer, but I have a phobia- you stay out of it, Bruce! I have a phobia about being touched, especially by complete strangers- _this isn't something I can just 'get over',_ Bruce!" she yelled into the phone, becoming frazzled by carrying on two conversations as well as the blood loss as the current around her refused to let the surrounding water turn pink.

At a loss for a better idea, Hilary squared her shoulders and gave her best glare to the mermaid. "Lady Haru! My brother is alive because of you! Unless you want me to order Robert here to take hold of you for treatment, you will march yourself onto the beach this instant and let us show our gratitude! Being stubborn won't help your case in the slightest, and what will your daughter say if you manage to stumble into your room looking like a scratching post?!"

Haru gaped at her in complete shock.

Seeing that she had the mermaid's full attention, Hilary didn't relent. "You heard me! Don't worry about Yuki being by herself. I have Robert and Renaldo's sister keeping her company, and Julia's not a shabby fighter herself."

"She beats _me_ on a regular basis, sometimes Renaldo as well," Robert admitted, finally forcing himself to start walking into the water and offer Haru his hands. "Please, before you pass out."

Haru bit her lip before sighing in defeat. "I got overruled, Bruce. I hope you're happy. Good, thanks. Don't forget to put 'viewer discretion is advised' in the video's title. Talk to you tomorrow, bye." Tapping the glass to turn it dark, she hesitantly drew closer to Robert and tried to brace herself against his hands.

Robert had different plans, sweeping the brown hair into his arms as carefully as possible before carrying her out of the waves.

"Gah! Robert, I _really_ don't like being picked up," she tried to beg, but he was setting her on the blanket-covered rock before long.

Just as Hilary's brother had said, the scent was indistinguishable from fresh salt water, though there was an unpleasant under-smell of lizard blood.

"Too bad. Hilary here specifically brought me along to carry you," he answered smugly as the doctor uncorked a small vial.

"This will help with the pain," he offered, but Haru shook her head.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't like how drugs feel."

Timothy gaped at her. "I should think you'd care even less for the damage to your body!"

Haru gave a shrug with a melancholy expression, her eyes turning glazed from the blood loss and with the need to pass out. "This is a Tuesday for me. Just start sewing me up, I can take it."

Hilary shook her head in amazement. "Why are you offended by less pain?"

"I'm not so much offended by it as I hate the side effects," Haru explained patiently. "I don't like being out of my mind and saying stupid things I'd never say if I were in control of myself. Too many people are willing to take that kind of stupidity at face value."

Timothy gave a sound of disgust. "Just how _inferior_ is human medicine?! The only side effect of my potion is that you will feel less pain and fall asleep within half an hour."

"I might do that last part soon, anyway," Haru muttered under her breath, blinking her tired eyes and shaking her head to keep awake. "There's no point in taking medicine for something I'll be passed out over before I can feel the medicine's effects."

"So human medicine _is_ that inferior." Timothy gently wrapped Haru's frightfully cold fingers around the tiny vial. "Just drink it, Lady Haru. I promise that we will take a grain of salt with whatever you say before you fall asleep, and you _will_ feel a difference before slumber. Any foolishness that passes your lips before you dream will be the result of your fatigue and not the medicine."

Haru still looked at the vial apprehensively but made herself down the milk-colored contents in one swallow. As Hilary and the others knew would happen, her eyes widened in surprise after ten seconds as the vial was corked and placed back in Timothy's medical bag.

"Baron _clearly_ has only the best working for him!" Haru said numbly, making the old doctor laugh warmly from his kneeling position next to the long gash along her leg.

It was still oozing, but not as badly as it was earlier.

"This will still hurt, my lady," he warned her while carefully pouring medicine onto a cloth.

"You don't hear me screaming yet, do you? I am sorry about this, Hilary," the brown hair wasted no time apologizing to the other woman, barely paying any attention to the stinging treatment. If anything, it was being touched by the doctor that was making her nervous. "I was really hoping that our first meeting wouldn't have anything to do with my bloodlust."

The tawny lady gave her an incredulous look. "That wasn't bloodlust; that was survival! But you were hoping to meet me?"

"To personally thank you for Yuki's wardrobe, if nothing else." It was only then that Haru was able to give a dreamy smile. "I mean, she's always beautiful, but your style suits her better than almost anything I've found."

"… Thank you," Hilary answered, kneeling next to her as Timothy readied a needle and thread for stitches. "Would you like to hold my hand?"

"With the way I feel right now, there's a chance that I would crush your bones like paper. … But if you would mind holding my wrist, it should be safe," she mentioned softly, letting her defenses down a little more.

The disguised feline wasted no time grabbing a wrist and giving it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes trailed up to the mermaid's incredibly shortened head fur, biting her lower lip from nerves. "How… long did it take to…"

Haru noticed the direction of her gaze. "It was shoulder-length when I met Yuki. She really enjoys playing with my hair, so I've been letting it grow out for five and a half years." The brown hair sighed a little sadly. "She's going to be a lot more upset about the cut than I am. But hey, when a monster grabs you by the hair…" She gave a non-caring shrug. "Good thing I've been suspecting a big trim since Drac mentioned making a movie. It's surprising how many of my haircuts happen when a camera's rolling."

' _This is just another day to her?'_ Hilary gripped that wrist with both of her hands. "Again, I'm never going to fully repay you for my brother's life. I can barely handle his contract to the rat; I don't know how I'd handle anything more… _permanent._ " She gave a shudder at the terrible thought.

Haru managed a half-smile for her. "Don't worry. I have yet to call on a life-debt."

Hilary cocked her head, her curiosity peaked. "How many do you have, to speak so casually of them?"

Color tried to come to her cheeks from embarrassment as she looked away. "… I'd rather not say."

"Come now, it won't hurt to give me a number," the feline tried to coax, but Haru still shook her head.

"I once kept a park full of tourists from getting eaten alive. It messed up my count since I wasn't about to go collect names after getting bullied into going to a hospital."

Hilary no longer had any skepticism concerning her abilities, so she didn't argue. "All right. What about the ones you could call on right now?"

Haru chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully, staring out to sea while keeping perfectly still for Timothy. "Should I count the ones that wouldn't honor a life-debt?"

All three disguised cats looked to her in complete shock.

"I can count a good fifty of those, thirty-six were in the same day. Every one of those self-righteous morons a filthy coward that wouldn't lift a finger to save their own hides, never mind their spouse or parent or child," she snarled before shaking her head violently and taking some deep breaths. "Sorry. Guess I'm still a bit sore at them. I'll focus on the ones that I can get a response out of. Hmm, one, two, three… seven… twelve… Should I count the children that wouldn't have been born if I didn't save the parent? I've never been able to tell if that's cheating or not."

She looked at Hilary as if expecting an opinion, but the young feline was struck dumb by such an admission.

Timothy forced himself to finish sewing the leg cut so that he could start on the next one. "While it would be more difficult to claim a life debt, if those children were raised correctly, they should be willing to lend a hand if you so desire of them."

Haru gave a soft smile and chuckle. "I'd have to be in a **lot** of trouble in order to ask for help from any of them."

" _I beg your pardon?!"_ the queen screamed in the cats' minds. _"She doesn't consider a_ _ **hydra**_ _to be trouble?! What_ _ **will**_ _she consider 'trouble', then?!"_

Hilary had no choice but to silently agree with her queen.

"But then, I never thought I'd call in Bruce's favor, so I guess I'll wait and see what happens with the life debts I've racked up."

"Bruce's favor? Did you save his life as well?" Robert couldn't resist asking.

Haru laughed lightly while fighting back a flinch of pain. "Oh no, he just decided that he owed me a favor after I helped raise a lot of money for one of his charities when he wasn't expecting it. He takes his charities _very_ seriously, but even if he didn't decide that he owed me, he'd have still helped me adopt Yuki." Her smile turned a bit naughty. "Few things can make a foster organization pay attention like the head boss making personal contact. Even if that evil trickster paid for the adoption without clearing it with me first."

Hilary could only stare. "So the rumors I heard about him being a womanizer were false."

Haru answered with a snicker. "No, those are true. He goes through girlfriends like Renaldo goes through food."

Robert snickered a bit, but stopped when Timothy gave him a glare, switching to her back with more medicine.

Haru gave a reminiscing smile as her eyes faded out to sea. "Dad was worried sick when work kept him too tied up to follow me to Gotham the time I met Bruce. He thought for sure that Bruce was going to try his wiles on me. I found out later that Bruce was worried I was going to use wiles on him when I'm not his type and he's definitely not mine, but that's been sorted out for years. He's always been better at being a brother to me than Drac, for the sole reason that he _**cares**_ about what I think and want."

A brother figure. Drac had lied about everything.

" _Is that… a_ _ **vampire bite**_ _?"_ Queen Sonya asked in a horrified whisper, making Hilary stiffen a bit.

' _Where?!'_

" _On the shoulder that's missing half a sleeve."_

Hilary stared at the two small scars peeking out from behind torn blood-soaked cloth. "Did you fight a vampire?"

"Blood, energy, or money sucking?" Haru asked without batting an eyelash, still staring off into the sea.

The disguised feline stared in shock at her uncaring monotone. "I... am not certain how to answer that. It's just the round scars on your shoulder. Were they from a vampire?"

The brunette touched the marks with her free hand, her expression darkening as she kept her eyes on the waves. "Money-sucking. My ex-boyfriend. My first human kill," she admitted while looking down in depression. "I had just turned twenty."

Hilary gaped in horror. She couldn't imagine doing such a thing, even though she was only sixteen. "I-I apologize, I never should have asked."

"It's common knowledge. Even Yuki knows about it. I'll understand if you don't have the stomach for what happened," she stated as Timothy shooed her hand away so that he could rip the remaining sleeve off and start disinfecting the long shoulder cut.

' _Curse my curiosity!_ ' "... I'd like to know. Please," Hilary begged.

Haru looked at her, still so much guilt and depression in her features. "After Dad forced me to leave Louis-"

She felt a chill from such a familiar name!

"-He took me home and more or less finished raising me as his own daughter. I had taking care of other people down to an art, but he made sure I knew how to take care of myself before letting me move out into my own place. He wanted me to hire at least one bodyguard so I could be safe, but I insisted on learning how to use a gun instead. After being around someone for two years that only stayed with me for the money, I didn't want to go through that again.

"Louis had run off to Vegas and earned his own living by giving an embarrassing interview about me for a ton of money, and gambling. He did pretty well for almost two years before his money ran out. Since his friends left him and I had gained a ridiculous amount of wealth after parting ways with him, he stole a gun and came back to kill me and take everything he could. I was alone that night. I was sleeping on the couch from a movie marathon until I heard the glass shatter. He chased me to my bedroom where my gun was. These marks are where his bullets missed my heart. My bullet didn't miss his brain."

The brown hair looked down at her hands, clearly hating what only she could see on them. She had to fight to keep her posture the same for the doctor preparing to stitch her back together instead of slumping in depression. "I haven't been able to stop slaying monsters since. Every time I swear I'm giving it up… well, what happened with your brother is the best summary for my kills, minus the extremely helpful crow. I was really hoping that Baron would give my friendship a chance without taking justified rumors seriously. But to be fair; with how far I go to keep my scar collection private, I don't usually look like someone who slays monsters at the drop of a top hat."

Well. If that wasn't a good opening to ask, nothing could be. Hilary took in a deep breath for courage. "Speaking of justified rumors… there's something I've been hearing about you for some time. I have no idea if this will anger you or not, but please understand that no offense is meant with the question."

Haru cocked an eyebrow, her brown eyes turning harder than steel. "Where my reputation's concerned, the only thing people talk about more than my conquests are the stinking mermaid rumors. Those are false. Those are annoying. I once played a mermaid, and have been roped into mermaid-related roles more often than I should have permitted. I've never been allowed to forget it or allowed to escape it. Which is why I flat out **refuse** to play a vampire. I've got enough problems without people trying to stake me and ignoring my occasional tan or open love of Italian food."

' _Your majesty?'_ Hilary called out for confirmation.

"… _She's telling the truth. She isn't a mermaid. But she seems irritated; perhaps further questions should be asked later."_

' _ **Much**_ _later,'_ the disguised feline agreed in a heartbeat, giving a gentle squeeze to the wrist. "Thank you for being so direct about this. I was a bit worried that you were going to…" Wait, what was she doing?! She couldn't bring this up so soon!

Haru gave her a heavily amused look, fighting back another wince as Timothy applied more medicine before he continued the stitching on her back. "Throw myself at your brother? Don't be silly; I'm old enough to be his mother, despite my appearance. Credit me with a _little_ amount of propriety."

" _She's telling the truth about this as well. We've all been worrying about him for three months over_ _ **nothing**_ _."_

ooOoo

"I can't believe any of you were that stupid," Yuki griped as she got out her mother's fleece nightgown. "All you had to do was ask me, and I'd have _told_ you she's not a mermaid."

"Renaldo said you were in denial!" Julia protested, making certain that the mostly unused fireplace was burning since she wasn't interested in the electric heating.

The child scoffed dismissively. "Oh, please. Anyone that's only had one 'boyfriend' in her entire life, is terrified of being touched by strangers, and literally pays someone else to do her kiss scenes for her because it's 'icky' has no business being a mermaid." Yuki laid out the nightgown on her side of the bed and pulled the blankets loose so that her mother would be able to slide right in.

"How does that work?" Julia couldn't help asked, still trying to ignore the little dog following her every move to sniff at her feet and maid's uniform. "Wouldn't someone notice that it isn't her kissing whatever fellow she's acting beside?"

Yuki hopped on the bed while making an uncaring sound of agreement."Sure, it's no secret. But Mom says it's usually convincing enough not to be distracting. She doesn't care that people make fun of her for spending that much money for a kissing double but having no trouble with wrestling a wolf."

The solidly-built maid shook her head in numb amazement. "So that wasn't a joke you told my brother? About her killing a wolf a little before all this started?"

"Not even a little bit. Can truth seers even lie while making a joke?"

"… No. At least, the queen can't. My apologies; it's just that your second mother doesn't look like a monster slayer," Julia offered a little helplessly.

"Mom says that's why she's lasted this long. Monsters don't take her seriously until it's too late."

Julia closed her small black eyes and took in a deep breath. "Very well, Little Miss. What is your mother, then?"

Yuki couldn't help the big goofy grin that crossed her face. "The most amazing, bravest, loving mommy in any world. I still don't know how I got lucky enough to get her to adopt me."

The tall maid had to struggle to keep her frustration out of her next attempt. "I meant _what_ is she, dear? Where does her blood come from? Why was she able to defeat a hydra without magic when it has never been done before?"

The girl could only shrug indifferently. "She promised to tell me everything when I turn twelve. She wants me to enjoy being a child while I still have the chance. I'm not afraid of waiting. Oh, and she's admitted to being surrounded by monsters her whole life. She's learned by now that being predictable is a disadvantage. I'd have been more shocked if the hydra won, frankly."

Julia decided not to pass on how close of a call it had been, stepping a bit to the side in hopes that the _dog_ would leave her alone.

After what felt like far too long for both of them, even with Yuki coaching Julia on how to pet Toby, the spell on the door rippled.

"Oh, right. Yuki, be a dear and let us in," Hilary called out, making the girl jump off the bed and open the door wide.

At some point during the walk back to the room, Haru had fallen asleep in Robert's arms, possibly from the blood loss. Even with the large woolen blanket covering her mother from chin to toe, it wasn't hard to see that she had taken a beating. The blood stains on the blanket were an unnecessary confirmation.

"Her pretty hair's been cut!" Yuki gasped, seeing red at the unholy sacrilege.

"Now, dearest, let her rest," her aunt urged, grabbing an arm and gently guiding her aside so that Robert could walk in and carry Haru toward the bed. Hilary gave a confused look to the fleece nightgown, but folded it over one arm so that there was room for her new friend. "Just wait outside with Timothy and Robert while I help Julia get her out of… what remains of her dress."

"I can help-" she tried to protest, but her aunt cut her pleas short.

"Yuki! Your mother won't want you to see these additions to her scar collection. Not yet. Please. Let us do this for her."

Pouting like she was half her age, the white-haired child stomped out of the door and waited for Timothy and Robert before slamming it shut, Toby at her heels in a second. "Tell me this means things are going to change," she just about demanded of the old doctor.

"They have to, now that we have seen what Miss Haru can do if she is pushed." He shook his head worriedly. "Not that this is a complaint, but why didn't she ever chastise the lord for… you know what for."

Yuki crossed her arms in defiance. "Mom prefers to save her temper for when she needs it. Besides, she has too much fun laughing at people when they point out that she's made mistakes. As if she needs any reminders; she'll remind herself all day if I don't do something to cheer her up," she admitted before realizing that she wasn't thinking the terrible truth.

Robert and Timothy exchanged a concerned look.

Then Yuki suddenly remembered what day it was. "Would one of you remind Baron that the day after tomorrow's the last day before I tell Mom everything? He better be willing to have a real talk with her after today."

"Now, your grace; Haru's taken a beating that most cats wouldn't live to groan about. Extend the deadline three more days," Timothy insisted.

Yuki decided now wasn't the best time to argue that formal tone of address. "Mom would be willing to talk whenever Baron is. He's the one hesitating."

But the practiced physician stubbornly shook his head. "She's lost a lot of blood. She won't be able to stay awake long enough to have a true discussion with your uncle. It would be uncharitable to not allow her the proper healing time, and I am going to enforce rest on the lord as well. His injuries are nothing compared to your adoptive mother's, but if I make him do it, she will not be an exception."

"… Fine. But only because I want her to get better." But then she bit her lip, wondering if it was going too far. "Um, Timothy? How good are you at making sleeping potions?"

"I hold my own quite nicely. But you seem well-rested," he noted with some confusion.

Yuki shook her head stubbornly. "It's not for me, it's for Mom. She always gets bad nightmares after a kill, and you said she should rest. She says she's sometimes spent half the night doing push-ups to avoid going back to sleep, which is why I'm staying with her while she's recovering. Even Uncle Bruce admits that I can make her behave like no one's ever been able to, but I can't take the nightmares away. Will you please help her?" She made sure to do the 'puppy eye' routine to give her every last bit of advantage.

A gentle smile appeared under his aged beard. "For the woman that defended my master and friend with her life? It will be my honor. But I'll need a way back into our world."

Yuki nodded, leading the elderly doctor to her old room and assisting him through the mirror.

"Not for me, thanks," Robert declined when Yuki reached for him next. "I'm staying with you. Someone needs to be around in case more trouble comes up."

She gave him a flat look.

Thankfully, he needed no translation for that glare. "Yes, I know. But she's earned a vacation after today."

Yuki smiled at the large brown hair, accepting his help with getting off the vanity. "It's about time you cats saw the light."

ooOoo

Timothy approached the royal couple before offering a bow. "My king, my queen. My prince," he added with a fond smirk at the heir. "The little duchess has set me on a task, but I wished to deliver these for your perusal."

"They are hers?" the queen asked worriedly as the doctor opened his bag and used his magic to carefully take out some cloths stained with blood.

"I watched it seep directly from her body during my visit," he confirmed with another bow. "Not even my potions have touched these clothes."

Sonya smiled gratefully while using her own power to take the cloths to avoid contamination. "You have our gratitude, Timothy. I would offer immediate reward, but I am certain Duchess Yuki's task is imperative."

The gray hair gave her a respectful smile and shake of the head. "The only reward I desire is being absolutely certain that the duchess' assessment of her adoptive mother is correct."

"I am now convinced that we can make an ally of Miss Haru with the proper persuasion, but…" Sonya took in a deep breath, leaving the throne room in favor of her personal laboratory. "The next step would be easier to decide if we first know what we are dealing with, now that it's clear that she isn't a mermaid."

"Nathaniel?" the king asked his advisor, who respectfully stepped forward while adjusting his clipboard. "Tell Eugene to whip up a sleeping potion for me tonight. And every night for the next month."

"Could you make that two sleeping potions?" his son asked while looking sick. "Whatever Miss Haru is, she's going to be _my_ mother in law if I don't botch things up with Yuki."

The king groaned, fighting back a shudder at the kind of enemy he had nearly made. And perhaps might still need to make.


	23. We Have Been Waiting

**Chapter Twenty Three: We Have Been Waiting**

 _Don't you see? She is the one! The girl we have been waiting for! SHE HAS COME TO BREAK THE SPELL!_

 _-Lumiere, Disney's animated 'Beauty and the Beast'_

 **xxXxx**

" _Ugh, where could she have disappeared to_ _ **this**_ _time?!" Drac nagged before barking an order for the company to search for the head actress._

 _Since it was better than waiting for her to finish having her bit of fun, Baron used his nose while taking a seemingly casual glance behind drapes and such. 'This is most unprofessional behavior for a 'grown woman'.'_

 _After a while, that familiar sea scent was traced to a nondescript closet down the hallway leading into the kitchens. Rolling his eyes, Baron opened the door with a stern look._

 _Haru was in a pouncing stance with a pie in one hand. Banana cream, from the smell of it. She was startled at seeing him, but tapped a finger to her lips before mouthing Drac's name._

 _Baron stood there for a bit, debating whether or not it was worth the storm that was sure to follow the prank. He was grateful that she wasn't smashing it into his own face, since his fur would take far more time for him to clean off the mess than the director._

… _It would have been a harmless form of revenge for how he had spoken to her in front of Yuki the other day. Why wasn't she taking it?_

" _Baron! Stop wasting time and help look for Haru! Do you think I'm paying you to pretend to look in closets?!" Drac snapped, walking down the hallway past the open door. He was continuing his lecture while refusing to look within, likely on the grounds that Baron hadn't found the star._

 _Which proved to be a mistake._

 _Haru leapt out of the closet past a startled Baron, fiercely smashing the pie into the side of the director's face and splattering the remains all over his clothes._

" _Worth it!" she cheered as he screamed in surprised fury._

" _Haru, this is an expensive suit! Baron! Why didn't you warn me?!" the director demanded while wiping the cream out of his eyes the best he could._

" _You never asked if I found her," the feline lord stated calmly, although it was hard not to crack a smile at this juvenile prank. "Speaking of which, wasn't this a waste of food, Haru?" he tried to argue, closing the closet door with both hands._

" _I already reimbursed the cook. It could have been worse; what if I did that in front of the entire staff, Drac?" she asked, still grinning like a child. "I_ _ **can**_ _repeat myself when needed, and even expensive suits can be cleaned. Shall I start rallying witnesses for an encore?"_

 _Drac made some more infuriated growls and unintelligible grumbles before marching the needed steps to a bathroom._

 _Baron rubbed at a temple to combat a headache as he walked down the hallway back to the rendezvous point. "Has anyone ever told you how much of a child you are, Miss Haru?"_

 _She gave a nonchalant shrug that didn't match the beaming smile that had overtaken her features. She nearly skipped down the hall in order to keep pace with him, obviously in the same good mood she usually was after embarrassing the director. "I don't need anyone to tell me something so obvious. Are you ever going to give me an insult I haven't heard a million times?"_

 _He started at that. He debated asking her if that was what she wanted, or trying to figure out if it was just the lead-in to an attempted…_

 _The orange feline intentionally fell long behind her, not willing to take the chance._

xxXxx

Yuki was startled in the middle of the night when her mother tried to strangle a scream, nearly throwing all three occupants off the bed.

"Mom! Everything's fine, it was just a nightmare!" she yelped, cheatingly using her magic to make her partial fall from the bed a gentle thud instead of a bruise-inducing fall. She couldn't do the same for Toby since she still needed to see what she was lifting and he had fallen off the other side of the bed. _'At least I remembered to tie up the canopy so she couldn't rip it down again.'_

Haru was breathing heavily, trying to shake off the cold sweat as she looked around the room and then at her little girl. "Yuki! … Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," the brunette tried to moan as Julia snapped awake and rolled out of the cot beside the window.

"Well! You certainly weren't exaggerating, little miss. Everything's just fine, Miss Haru; no monsters need slaying right now."

The badly injured woman looked up at the heavily muscular one with suspicion as she tried to regulate her panicked breaths. "You… better be… Renaldo's sister."

Yuki patted a cheek since she couldn't tell through the fleece sleeve where the new injuries were. "She is, Mom. This is Julia, Hilary's letting us borrow her until you get better."

"I came willingly," she griped with a smile while carefully easing the brunette back to the middle of the bed and pulled the covers back up to her chin.

Toby was complaining through grunts and soft growls as he hopped back onto the bed and licked Haru's hand when she apologetically rested her shaking arm over him, Yuki curling up on the other side and snuggling close under the hastily smoothed covers.

"Do you need anything as long as you're awake? I don't think you've eaten since before the incident," the maid fussed worriedly.

"I'll throw it up," Haru informed her with misery. "But… could I have a glass of water?"

Julia smiled and immediately marched into the bathroom.

Nervously, the mother turned to her child. "How much did they tell you about it?"

"Not that much," Yuki answered truthfully. "I know you fought something dangerous to keep Baron safe, and now Hilary's going to do everything she can to show her gratitude. Speaking of which, I'm to pass on that she's overriding your claim on the doctor bills."

"She's what?! But those are mine! No one can honestly state that they aren't! Wait, did she tell you what they were for?" she asked in a panic.

"Drac's stupidity. No, Hilary didn't breathe a word about his injuries," Yuki stated, concealing that she had overheard her mother's overdue rant, though she had been thankfully spared from watching the additional carnage. "She just said that getting to see him a broken mess would be well worth every coin."

Julia returned with the glass of water, expertly bracing Haru's back while helping her to sip.

"You're not going to spend the whole time babying me, are you?" the brunette asked suspiciously as the maid tucked her back into bed.

"Try and stop me," she smirked, reaching to the bedside table for a small vial and uncorking it. "This is to keep the nightmares at bay."

Haru tried to blush but couldn't quite manage it thanks to the blood loss. She glared accusingly at her unashamed daughter.

"Timothy promised that it's perfectly safe; no dreams at all and a deep slumber. Renaldo's brothers are taking shifts outside the door so that you don't have to be ready to fight for a while. Please? For me?" she begged, using the 'puppy eye' routine that she had perfected by now.

"Oh, you **cheater**! You know I can't resist that look," her mother melted like a marshmallow before allowing Julia to give her the sleeping potion.

Before her lips left the little glass vial, she was out like a light.

"Good Mommy," Yuki giggled, wrapping her mother's arm around her shoulders so she could fall asleep as well.

"Does she usually dote so on you, your grace?" Julia couldn't help as she walked back to her own cot.

Yuki smirked, wiggling close to her mother as sleep again began claiming her. "This was only a small example. You'll see… more… soon…"

ooOoo

Renaldo was as silent as possible as his sister carefully opened the door and let him past Herald. Yuki had thankfully taken her spell off it by now, which he was grateful for. Making sure breakfast was ready and waiting for the girls would have been a bit more of a hassle if they had to wake the little duchess first.

"Is there enough for us?" Julia whispered as he expertly placed the large silver tray onto the vanity, avoiding the fresh flowers decorating the room in artistic displays.

"Yours is waiting in Yuki's room. I'll keep an eye on them for a while," he promised in as soft a tone as he could manage.

She gave him a small smile before giving an affectionate punch on the shoulder and slipping out of the room; not hesitating to give Herald the same punch.

As the door closed, Renaldo looked around the room with guilt. Compared to Yuki's room, it was barely more than a comfortable prison. One bed, a vanity, bedside table with adjoining lavatory. Oh, and his sister's cot next to the window. Not even a little table to write or enjoy meals on. Granted, she hadn't needed it and she never complained, but was that really an excuse to give her the bare minimum that was required?

No wonder Drac had lost his temper at this injustice.

His eyes suddenly trailed to three frames connected to each other, much like the two that had been in Yuki's room. Drawing closer to the bedside table, he picked up the frames for a careful look.

The last two frames were exactly like the ones in Yuki's, save for an extra picture of a young tom he was sure was Dick, but the extra frame had a photo of Haru in a fancy blue dress with a tuxedoed man that might have been mistaken for Drac's older brother. He had red, greying head fur instead of black, but the same nose, the same ears, even the same impossibly tiny hands covered in gloves.

The one thing that marked him as different was his expression. Instead of Drac's fanatic adoration or familiar sneer, there was tenderness as he looked at the brown haired woman wrapped in one of his arms. Even the way he was holding her hand with his free one was gentle, as if handling a ceramic figurine.

Haru was the one that looked worshipful as she smiled up at him, keeping a grip on his hand and shoulder; positioned as if they were about to dance.

Renaldo wanted to blame it on his imagination, but… there was something nearly _romantic_ about the way that man was holding her.

"Which one are you looking at?" Haru yawned, making him jump in surprise.

"Gah! Uh, sorry, Haru; I didn't think you were awake," the bodyguard swiftly apologized, setting the frames down before he could break them.

"I just woke up. You don't have to act like I caught you looking at my diary, you know," she informed him, tilting her head at the pictures. "If I didn't want anyone to see those, I would have left them in my suitcase."

He gave another glance at that first picture guiltily. "… Is that really all it would have taken to know the truth between you and Drac? Asking?"

"Oh, tell me that idiot hasn't been spreading the whole 'she backed out of marrying me' nonsense again. If I'm forced to get out of this bed to deliver more chastisement, I _will_ kill him. My patience is done with that brat." She made with one hand to pull off the bedcovers to do just that.

"While I wouldn't mind seeing the last of him," Renaldo answered evasively, shooing her hand back to its former position, "Timothy's given orders for us to tie you to the bed if you try to get up for more than lavatory business until he says otherwise, and even then Julia must assist you. You were a little closer to death's door than we were willing to tell Yuki."

She softened with gratitude at the admission. "Thank you." She looked down at the child in question, her eyes full of love as the girl continued to breathe long and deeply. "How's Baron holding up?"

He stared in shock. "How can you ask that? _You're_ the one that got mangled!"

"Shh!" she commanded, throwing a worried look at her sleeping child. "I can ask that because I care about Baron, and I think I've lost- and spilled- enough blood on his behalf to ask whatever I please. _How… is he_?" she repeated with emphasis.

He swallowed hard, not about to push his luck. "He's fine, barely more than a few bruises. He used to get worse injuries than those when he was learning to joust."

"Yeah, that can be brutal," she agreed with a reminiscing smile. "Unless you practice holding those lances first, dropping or lowering one at the wrong moment can about send you into the hospital, with or without the armor."

"You joust?" he asked fearfully, his imagination unwillingly picturing the terror she would invoke in tournaments.

"Just against dummies, on the off-chance I ever got to do it for a role or emergency. But for some reason, every time I challenge someone competent, they back down without a fight even if I promise to go easy on them." That smile turned sad, but she was fighting to keep it upbeat. "It was pretty humiliating how often the dummies won at first. One time I lost my temper enough to drag it off the wood horse and beat it to pieces."

"Humbert went through that, too," Renaldo was able to chuckle, remembering that day. "It didn't help that he'd interrupt his own insults to order me to stop laughing."

"You're making me glad that I never had an audience for that. Uh, where did those come from?" She was now eyeing the colorful bouquets nearly cluttering the far side of the room.

Renaldo gave the flora a tolerant smile. "My guess is from members of the royal court. Humbert's held in high regard, you know."

Her face turned a fraction paler. "Hilary _told_?"

"Well, she was sharing the… secret cameras yesterday. She was trying to prove a point to a duchess, but you were the one that proved your point to all of them."

Haru slowly closed her eyes, and removed her hand from Toby's back to weakly try and cover her face with the blankets. "Don't mind me. I'll just die of mortification," was a bit muffled under the blankets.

"What? And skip out on the breakfast I just made? Don't you dare! Come now, it's one of Yuki's favorites," he coaxed, tugging on the quilts slightly.

"Mm, that smells yummy!" the girl in question beamed, forcing herself to awaken and sit up from her mother's embrace. "Mulberry pancakes?"

"Wait, you can make mulberry pancakes?!" Haru asked, forgetting her depression enough to emerge from the covers.

"Oh, yes; he makes the yummiest pancakes- uh, not that there's anything wrong with yours!" Yuki backtracked with a nervous smile, slipping out of bed to give a newly awakened Toby his breakfast first.

"Do you make them from scratch or use a mix?" the brunette asked the bodyguard as he adjusted the pillows for a sitting position and set a breakfast tray over her lap.

Renaldo cocked his head at her with confusion. "I'm not sure what those terms mean. I mix the flour, salt and such before adding the mulberries."

"Then by definition, your pancakes have to be better than mine. That and the mulberries. You can't go wrong with mulberries." She happily started cutting into the breakfast after Renaldo poured the syrup.

"You like them? But we've never had them before," Yuki pointed out, sliding back next to her mother as Renaldo retrieved her tray as well.

"We live in the wrong climate, and it's not a popular berry in the States. They're ridiculously expensive to ship, but I should have thought of it anyway."

Renaldo couldn't help but feel nervous as she took the first bite. Sure, she seemed human enough, but why did her scent tell such a different story? What if her taste buds weren't compatible with feline food?

Her eyebrows shot up as she slowly chewed, becoming silent enough for Yuki to look up from cutting her own pancakes.

"Mom? Everything all right?"

Haru finished chewing slowly and swallowed before speaking in a soft and steady tone. "Renaldo?"

"Yes?" he asked nervously.

"Is this the standard level of quality you give Yuki's food?"

The girl in question worriedly took a bite of her pancakes. "Mm, hm!" she confirmed happily.

Haru gave a light thinking hum, and cut more of her breakfast. "Renaldo. If I didn't know for a fact that you're completely loyal to Baron's family, I'd consider wasting time trying to talk you into working for me."

He let out a relieved sigh. "I don't think you can afford what it would take to make me walk away from them."

Despite how obvious Drac made it that she had more money than she knew what to do with.

She finished swallowing her second bite before answering him with a smile. "I don't think I can, either."

ooOoo

"Anything yet, my love?" Phoebus asked, poking his head into his wife's study. "You've been in here since yesterday; are you certain you don't need a break?"

Sonya answered without taking her eyes off the microscope. "Please, dear. I want more information before I draw any conclusions. Her blood's as stubborn as she is."

The king started in surprise. "I thought it was supposed to be a ten to thirty minute spell to figure out her birthright."

His queen sighed as she tried to consult one of her books. "That's why I'm troubled, my love. That spell told me next to nothing."

ooOoo

"This one says 'Baron was the best man at my wedding, and I still hope to return the favor. Thank you for making sure it stays a possibility, Count James Degard and Countess Rebecca Degard, with their three children Jennifer, Mortimer, and Oliver.' I remember that wedding: I got to be one of the flower girls," Hilary reminisced while placing the card back into the breath-taking arrangement of white and yellow flowers. "James insisted on Humbert after he set the two up for a private picnic." She managed a rueful smile with a small laugh. "I've always been a little in envy of how easily he can pair up future mates. I've given it a few tries myself, but they don't work nearly as well." _'Especially since a majority of them involve my brother.'_

"You know, matchmaking can be a pretty tricky, risky business," Haru pointed out, looking up from the papers she had been writing in. Her pace was slow and stiff thanks to her healing wounds, but it was steady.

Hilary rolled her eyes while moving onto the next bouquet. "You sound like him. _'Hilary, don't interfere with what you don't understand'._ " She then pulled a face of disgust."Ugh, I should leave imitating voices to you."

" **Now, Hilary. Don't be so hard on yourself. As long as you are not too demanding and keep your heart in the right place, those you wish to help will always appreciate your efforts. Even if they don't agree with you.** " Haru gave her an encouraging smile before turning her eyes back to her paperwork.

Hilary stared at her, placing the card back into the pink and blue bouquet to rush to the bed and throw herself into the brown hair's lap and scatter the papers decorating the bed, now that Yuki was out walking Toby with Renaldo. She gripped that waist, waiting for the chastisement of messing up the papers as she fought back tears.

Surprisingly, Haru only moved the remaining papers out of the way and wrapped her own arms around the disguised feline. "Well, I don't know if those are his actual thoughts, but-"

"He used to talk like that," Hilary whispered, trying so hard not to cry. "It… it was like having my cheerful, fun-loving brother back."

She could feel warm, strong hands gently run through her hair and massage her back; giving all the comfort she needed.

"Everyone heals at different rates, Hiromi. They also heal in different ways. But I hope you get him back."

"H-how long did it take you… Louis?" Hilary sobbed, fighting for a scrap of hope.

Her new friend took a little longer to answer than expected. "… Louis himself I got over by the time I approached his parents over killing him. The person he told me he was to convince me to run off with him? I don't think I'll ever get over that dream." The gentle cheerfulness in her voice was trying not to echo an ancient loss but failing miserably.

Hilary looked up at her. "Who did he tell you he was?"

Haru gave a small sad smile, her eyes now a million miles away. "Someone that wanted to start a family with me when all I had to offer was hard work and loyalty." She gave a disappointed sigh. "Childhood dreams. They never really leave."

Hilary sat up enough to wipe her tears away and start collecting the scattered papers. "It could still happen. For being forty-five years old, I could consider you a rival without much trouble."

Haru gave a dismissive snort. "You're prettier and don't have my scars or emotional baggage. _Believe me_ , dealing with Louis was more than enough for me." She forced herself to take a deep breath and smile a bit. "Besides, I've got Yuki now. I'll be fine."

Hilary immediately felt a stab of guilt, praying that the queen's findings would allow no separation.

Besides… Haru's presence was quickly proving addictive.

Suddenly her mind clicked. "Hiromi?" She had never heard a name like that before.

The brown hair must have been feeling better, because her blush was now a slight pink tinge. "Eh, sorry about that. Easy mistake." She turned her eyes back to shuffling and rearranging the papers a bit more hurriedly than warranted.

"Who's Hiromi?" Hilary pressed, but only got a shake of the head for a reply.

"Nobody."

Oh, it was _war_. There was no caging her curiosity now!

Hilary gathered all the pages she could, but held them away with a teasing smirk. "Come now; who do I remind you of?" she teased with a large grin.

Haru covered her eyes while shaking her head. "That is so something Hiromi would do in a heartbeat. You're not making this any easier."

"Then maybe you should," the younger woman countered impishly.

Haru gave an exasperated sigh. "Oh, fine. Hiromi's another stock character from my work. Usually plays my best friend when I don't play a lonely outcast. She's bubbly, gossipy, athletic, and often plays the anchor to my crazy antics."

' _How is this possible? She described me to a T.'_ "… Like talking you into accepting treatment when you're being stubborn?" she asked to cover up the small sense that the character might be important.

Haru managed a rueful smile of her own. "A very Hiromi thing to do. I'm surprised I didn't slip up before. I'll try to watch my mouth from now on."

It didn't take long for Hilary to make up her mind while returning the papers. "It's okay if you call me that. The name is clearly special to you, and after saving my brother, you could call me Simon for all I care."

Haru giggled as she started sorting through her work. "No, I'm pretty sure that 'Hiromi's the worst that will slip out of my mouth for you."

"Thank you for that. My apologies for mixing them up." Hilary tried to help, but all Human text looked the same to her. _'Too bad I can't absorb the information without her turning suspicious. I should ask Yuki if I can take it from her.'_

Within minutes, the papers were more organized than they were before Hilary's emotional outburst.

Haru smiled before clicking her pen once more. "Don't worry about it. I learned as a child to always number my pages."

ooOoo

Sonya sat on her high stool next to the desk, staring at the remaining cloth stained with Miss Haru's blood. Beside the cloth was a pile of papers, covering with scratched out writing. A pile of books next to the writing had been opened, slammed shut, and even thrown around the study once or twice. Her elegant fingers tapped against the sterile table, troubled about the little information she had been able to coax out of the red stains. The implications were… something she wouldn't wish on her darkest enemy. Not even the one who had enslaved her friend and she had enjoyed watching getting beaten to pieces.

Well, maybe him.

That just brought her thoughts back to Yuki's adoptive mother. If her information was correct… how did she _live_ this long by herself? Sonya would have committed suicide by now, even if there was nothing additional to what had… been… gleaned.

Her mouth fell open in horror. " _ **That's what she is**_!" the dark queen choked, jumping off the stool and running out of the room to track down her husband.

ooOoo

Yuki sighed happily as she leaned back on the pillows, letting the soothing melody wash over her while scratching a sleepy Toby's ears.

" _Da ya ta ya, da ta yay a,_ " Haru sang under her breath in a soft soprano as she played with the lyre that Julia had fetched, interrupting herself frequently to make or change notes in her newest composition. "Hmm… _Ta ha, ya ma so ne da ya sa._ "

"Is that a language I don't know?" Julia asked softly, putting her book down with a bit of confusion.

"No, it just helps her focus on the melody," Yuki answered, enjoying every bit of her mother's music.

Haru responded by filling half a page with music notes, a small grin on her face as her song slowly came to life. " _Ba da da, ya na._ "

Julia gave the two of them a confused look, but returned to her book.

The door suddenly opened, making the three women and Toby look up as Herald poked his head in with a nervous smile.

"Do you feel well enough to accept visitors?"

"If they don't mind seeing me without my makeup, sure," Haru responded, accepting her daughter's help with moving the lyre and music notes to her bedside table.

First into the room was Hilary, looking surprisingly pale with an equally nervous Renaldo. Third was… Baron?!

"Haru, is it all right if Renaldo and I take Yuki and Toby for a walk? I know it's a little early, but it's such a lovely day," Hilary nearly begged with a smile.

"It's more than fine with me. Go on, Sweetie," she coaxed, making the girl hop off the bed to race for the basset hound's leash. "Julia, would you like to go with them? You're probably feeling a little cooped up by now."

The maid snuck a look at the lord, who gave a subtle nod. "I think I will, thank you, my lady."

"Wait, are you coming, too?" Yuki asked, not using a name but looking at her uncle. It was only now that she could see he was hiding a basket behind his back, keeping it from her mother's line of sight.

He was actually able to give a tight smile. "If it's all the same to you, Yuki; I have business with your mum. I'll join you if we finish before you do."

"She's my _mom_ ," Yuki corrected, but the woman in question held up a hand in a calming motion.

"Mum's another way of saying 'mom', Sweetie. Just roll with it."

A wide grin slowly worked its way onto the little girl's face. Her uncle had always been careful to call her mother by name when she came into the conversation, or some synonym that made it clear that he didn't think Yuki could call two people 'mother'.

But this was a welcome improvement!

"Okay!" she chirruped, clipping the leash onto an eager Toby's collar. "I'll race you to the stairs!"

"These boots aren't made for running, dearest. But a brisk walk sounds wonderful." Hilary held out her hand, accepting the girl's as the two Moon siblings flanked them and they all left Haru's room. Yuki cheerfully waved goodbye to Harold as he closed the door and gave her a friendly grin.

"Are we sure that we want to leave them alone together?" Julia asked softly of her mistress, who only nodded with a sober expression.

"I know my brother, and I trust Haru. This is the best way to… open negotiations."

Yuki's grin would have increased if she didn't notice how serious Hilary and Renaldo were. "Is something wrong?"

"Let's go for a walk. Such a nice day for a walk," Renaldo stated, sounding uncharacteristically formal.

Yuki gave him a stern look before stopping dead in her tracks, letting go of her aunt's hand to cross her arms in warning. "There better not be any funny business going on."

"No, dearest; nothing of the sort," Hilary was quick to inform her, kneeling down to embrace her niece. While hugging, the disguised feline whispered into the girl's ear. "We just want to talk where we won't be overheard by the humans."

Yuki relaxed a bit as Toby gave an oblivious 'woof', and let the modest company take her out of the castle and deep into the forest. She kept her ears and nose as open as possible, but could find nothing other than squirrels and birds anywhere close.

"Oh good, you brought her. Then Humbert is finally speaking to Haru?" Thomas asked from his perch in a tree when they finally made it to a small glade.

Yuki could feel the queen's eyes on them, but didn't hear a peep from the one that could potentially become her future mother-in-law.

"Obviously, or we wouldn't be here!" Renaldo snapped at him, making Julia slap his shoulder in warning.

"Now don't start that if you're going to act like something big is happening."

"It's not so much... oh, dear, I wish Humbert was the one telling the news," Hilary fussed worriedly while making Yuki sit on a fallen log.

"Aunt Hilary? The king changed his mind about Mom, didn't he?"

Her aunt took in a deep breath before answering. "… Before we talk about that, it needs to be said that the queen did some experimentation on your mum's blood. Timothy gave her the cleaning cloths from their first meeting."

Yuki felt a cold chill at how serious they were being, but unclipped Toby's leash so that he could do some exploring and take care of business. "Is Mommy sick?"

"Isn't _that_ a question worth a thousand gold pieces?" Renaldo muttered under his breath, making Julia elbow him with a stern glare.

"Let me just say that Queen Sonya was trying to find out what your mother is. Under ordinary circumstances, the necessary spells would have taken half an hour at the very most to determine a blood's lineage. But your mum's blood put up a fight that's never been seen before."

"Sounds like Mom all right," Yuki giggled, but her giggle stopped when she realized that Hilary and Renaldo still looked so serious.

"Come now; did her majesty find out what Miss Haru is or not?" Julia asked impatiently, but Renaldo squeezed her shoulder to encourage silence.

Hilary took in a deep, nervous breath. "Yes and no. She was able to discern what Haru is right now, but not what she was born to be."

Yuki cocked her head in confusion. "Is there supposed to be a difference? Uncle Humbert was careful to inform me that even though I look human, I'm completely a cat, hence my eyes since I didn't have access to the amulet my first parents used to blend in. Isn't it the same thing for Mom?"

"Oh boy, if it were that simple," Thomas muttered, making Hilary glare up at him before continuing.

"Yuki, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but it's very understandable why your mum hasn't told you about her… heritage."

"I can wait until I'm twelve," Yuki tried to assure her aunt, but only earned a shake of the head.

"You need to know this now if you want her to come to our kingdom. Dearest… she's a Nothing."

Julia gasped loudly while throwing her hands to her rapidly paling face. "Say it isn't so!"

In the back of the little girl's mind, she could hear the overture for Phantom of the Opera as her blood began to boil in her veins. Yuki's large blue eyes narrowed angrily as she used her power to pick up her aunt in preparation for an impressive throw. " **Take. That. Back!** " she commanded in a snarl. "You take that back right now or I'll-"

"Stop it, Yuki! I didn't mean that she's worth nothing!" Hilary fought with her own power to touch the ground again, not looking thrilled about how much of a struggle it was. "It's only the term used for someone that's been stripped of their birthright!"

That shocked the girl enough to drop her aunt, who thankfully had Renaldo ready to catch her when her own power forced her to come down too hard.

"Thank you, my friend," Hilary apologized, though her eyes were locked on her niece as she was set down gently.

"… _Stripped_?" Yuki asked in a horrified whisper when she was eventually able to speak.

"Yes, dearest. Your mother once had power before it was taken from her. This is much more serious than the binding Humbert and the queen attempted; this complete of a birthright removal takes away not just the magic, but all traces of what they were born to be. There is nothing left of what your mum used to be in her blood. It's a miracle that she has a scent at all."

Yuki stared off, getting up from the log to pace worriedly. "That can't be right. Mom's said flat out that she never gets punished when she thinks she deserves it. She was born in a small fishing town in Washington, she has a human birth certificate!"

"It's completely possible that her parents did something bad enough to warrant their daughter being punished as well as banishment to the Human World. What did she tell you of her par… I mean, her birth parents?" Hilary corrected herself.

Yuki scoffed while giving a shrug. "The old man was an abusive control freak that had to have everything his way or throw a hissy fit to rival Drac, and her mom was so exhausted from keeping up with his demands that even when he left her mom alone, she was too tired to really do anything with Mom other than hair brushing and occasional bedtime stories. Mom tries very hard to give me more than she had growing up. Oh, and Vicky was pretty much a female version of the old man."

"Vicky?" Thomas asked in confusion, making the girl look up at his branch.

"Mom's twin sister," Yuki quickly explained before turning her attention back to Hilary. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing Mom's told me to hint that she's got a magical past."

"What does your mum's scent tell you? Does Vicky share that sea smell?"

Yuki blinked, carefully sifting through the brief mentions that had been made of the viper. "… I don't know. She almost never talks about her twin. Mom likes to pretend she doesn't smell odd at all, she gets angry whenever someone but me mentions it, even- Uncle Arthur!" she suddenly cried out while slamming a fist into an open hand with the realization. "He'll know what Mom is! He and Mom have similar blood types; they met when she donated blood for a transfusion to save his life! Even Aunt Mera had a similar scent!"

"Yes, anything you can tell us would be of great use," Hilary said with relief. "Because the king won't let her into the kingdom until we know what she is and why she became a Nothing. We can't do a thing until filming ends, of course, but the more time we have to prepare for what Haru is hiding will be most appreciated."

Yuki nodded, still thinking about the only time she got to see her honorary aunt and uncle. "I had almost forgotten, but… Uncle Arthur brought up Mom's family when talking about the transfusion. Mom gets tense when she's forced to talk about the old man or Vicky, but this was a lot worse than the usual reaction she gives when talking about those two. I wonder if… he meant family other than those demons. They sounded like complete wimps from Uncle Arthur's hint, and I'm pretty sure the old man and Vicky would have been able to take a little needle just fine, or at least wouldn't act like babies over it. But even then, the other relatives didn't sound like the type with the drive to commit a crime bad enough to warrant losing Mom's birthright for her."

Hilary could only wring her hands with worry. "Dearest, this is why we need details. Your mum is very quickly becoming dear to me, and we don't have time to wait until you're twelve. We need answers before Humbert's contract is completed **.** And the king needs a personal vow of loyalty before he'll even speak of changing your mum. Her abilities are too dangerous without a personal reassurance that she will not become a threat."

"She won't," Yuki insisted, feeling a bit tired of this old argument. "Mom only sheds blood when there are no other options."

Her aunt was also starting to lose her patience. "You've said it yourself; you know your mother better than anyone. You are a truth seer. You make no effort to hide that no one can manipulate your mum like you can, and she flat out agrees with it when you say so in front of her. Any information at all would be a blessing. Do you have any idea how she could have broken Binder when she doesn't have magic?"

Yuki stared at her incredulously before she burst out laughing. "Oh, come _on!_ I figured that out the day it happened!"

The queen gave a frustrated shriek through their minds. _"Our most experienced advisors have been deliberating about the cause since I informed them of the incident! Pray, what has slipped past everyone but yourself?!"_

Yuki grinned while giving her answer, though she was rubbing her temples from the pain. "I'm willing to bet it's because all of you are so obsessed with magical thinking, even though you admit that there's no magic in Mom. Not that she needs it, even if she used to have some sort of power."

Renaldo cocked an eyebrow before folding his arms. "All right, Duchess Brains. How did it happen?"

Yuki couldn't resist a grin from the new nickname. "Easy. You already said that Binder is supposed to temporarily bind magic. Though if Mom used to have it, that would explain why she didn't want to put Binder down," she mused out loud. "She might not have felt the pull as strongly, but maybe she felt something. Regardless, Mom has no magic, so Binder was next to someone but couldn't do its job. When it broke, I first assumed that it was my magic that did it, but that didn't make sense. I still had my gifts after it happened, and I didn't feel anything." It was here that the little girl's smile became feral. "Then I remembered something Mom's said about what she can do with energy work."

Hilary's eyes widened, and she immediately sat on a fallen log to give her niece undivided attention; Thomas landing on her shoulder as the Moon siblings sat on either side of her with equal interest.

"Mom doesn't try to explain it very often because people are obsessed with trying to twist her words until they sound like a mermaid confessional, so keep your mind open about this. Aunt Hilary, why are you growing fond of her?"

The young noblewoman started in surprise. "She saved my brother's life, of course! But it doesn't hurt that she's so easy to talk to, and understanding and just so…" She had to stop and think about the right word.

"Wonderful?" Yuki supplied with a knowing grin. "How does Mom make you feel?"

Hilary raised her arms helplessly. "… Well… comforted. Understood. I don't know, she just makes me feel… better. As if everything is going to be just fine."

Yuki smiled a little wickedly. "Would you say that when you go to see Mom, your heart is open?"

"I guess so. But what does that have to do with how Binder broke?" her aunt couldn't help asking.

Yuki rolled her shoulders, feeling smug about knowing something that the grown-ups didn't. "Oh, only everything. Here, I'll use Mom's words for what she can do; she's a symbiotic energy vampire."

" _ **Vampire**_?!" Julia screeched in horror while falling off the log.

The child couldn't fight back her giggles. " _Symbiotic energy_ vampire. Don't worry; it doesn't hurt at all when she feeds off your energy, and it's only a metaphor. From the sound of things, she's fed off you and Aunt Hilary already. She feeds off me all the time, and I've never been better than when I'm with her."

Julia was still shaking when Renaldo set her back on the log and wrapped a huge arm around her for comfort.

"I think you better explain this a little better, Yuki. Julia's never handled vampire talk very well," the older brother encouraged.

The girl drew herself to her full height, ready to try again. "When Mom gets around someone that has an open heart, she gets close and…" Yuki tried to think of a way to describe it herself, but eventually gave up. "Mom describes it as sort of a mental cloak she always wears. She spiritually wraps the cloak around the other person and soaks in whatever that person's feeling. Apparently, it's easier when there's an additional connection in a person's psyche if she can't touch them, which is why people respond so easily to her music. As she's soaking in other people's emotions, she takes them deep inside of her and magnifies it so that their own energy is reflected back to them twice as strong as she received it. She benefits, the person she's in contact with benefits. Hence; symbiotic energy vampire."

The cats and crow hanging on her every word were struck dumb.

It was here that Yuki started giggling. "Mom says that's the reason that her live concerts can get pretty crazy; that's a lot of energy from sometimes thousands of people she's reflecting back at them. That's why she tries so hard to make people happy with her music, or make them think on how they can become better people. If she's going to have an effect on people, she wants it to be a positive one. When we met…"

She sighed happily at the memory. "Mom was the first person to look at me and see something beautiful. When she wraps herself around me both physically and mentally, _nothing_ could make me feel as loved, or as full of potential. When I'm with her… I feel like I can do anything and everything I could wish to do! She makes me want to be better, even when she doesn't say a word. Sometimes the hugs are just warm, but when she hugs with her whole heart, and I hug her back the same way… that's what I meant by just being with Mom is magical. I think Binder broke because of the strong love that was passing between us in that moment. I don't know if your world agrees with me on this, but as far as I'm concerned, love trumps magic, and I don't think I'll ever meet anyone as loving as Mom." An ironic giggle escaped her control. "It took me forever to figure out that Mom's warmth was more heart than body temperature."

Hilary was gaping in surprise. "Is this even _possible_ , your majesty?"

" _I've never heard of anything quite like this, before. But then, no one has ever tracked down a Nothing to see if there were any unforseen repercussions."_

"I think this is just part of Mom whether she's a Nothing or not. But I can ask if anyone in her birth family can do this, too," Yuki promised.

Hilary lit up as a gasp racked her body, making Toto fly off and land on Julia's shoulder. Hiromi leapt off the log and grabbed her niece by the shoulders. She even knelt in front of the child with an almost desperate smile in order to make the best eye contact. "Yuki! Are there lasting effects to anyone she feeds from for too long?"

The girl could only nod, though a bit surprised at her aunt's intensity. "I thought I was clear about that, but yes. If she cares about you- and she cares about everybody- it's a gentle nudge to make you want to be better. If she likes you on a personal level, your natural self comes out more easily. If she _loves_ you, your potential goes through the roof, _and_ you can never hope to hide your true self." It was here that the little girl sighed sadly. "Mom partially blames herself that Drac's turned into **this** much of a self-absorbed snake in the grass. Grandpa was apparently not the nicest person in the world before he met Mom, but by the time he died, he was a true gentleman by every sense of the word." She then smirked. "Since remembering that talk, it's my theory as to why my magic's a lot stronger than it's supposed to be for my age. It's definitely more than I could do before meeting Mom, even if you discount my control and years of practice. Five years of constant love and encouragement from Mom is as good as spiritual fertilizer."

Then Yuki looked down, not liking the other part. "Mom gets depressed when people get more addicted to how she makes them feel than to her personally, which is why she was lonely when we met. She knows how to block people she doesn't want to influence, and people can subconsciously block her if they don't want her influence, but she's not always the best judge of character. I don't think I have to point any further than Drac to confirm that. She hates blocking people because it makes her feel hollow and that's how she grew up, but she will shove her own needs to the side when she has to. She says not having true friends that can drop anything to spend time with her is even worse, but she tries her hardest not to hold it against her friends that they have lives outside of her. I _swear_ to you that all you have to do is offer genuine friendship, and you'll be shocked at how it can change everything you thought couldn't be shifted."

Hilary was now breathing heavily as a mad hope filled her olive-green eyes. "Tell me as honestly as you can, Yuki. If the talk between Humbert and your mum goes well, and they become good friends… I'll get my brother back?" she begged in a tiny voice, as if she was afraid to believe the answer. "The kind, teasing big brother that let himself be happy?"

Yuki looked her aunt straight in the eye. "If the way you remember him was the real him, and he honestly opens his heart to Mom, then yes. The probability of him returning to that is a good ninety-six percent likely to happen. With interest."

Hilary couldn't fight her tears of happiness as she clung to the girl. " _This is it! Haru's the miracle I've been praying for!_ "

"Now, Hilary; you know why it wouldn't be a good idea for them to become more than friends," Renaldo tried to warn the lady, but she shook her head while spinning her niece around happily.

"This isn't about my brother finally getting a wife; it's about him being happy again! If Haru can do it, I'll be her slave the rest of my days!"

"If she lets you keep that promise, it'll be an easy yoke. Mom's very fond of not asking someone else to do something that she can take care of herself," Yuki informed her, ecstatic that she was but maybe an interrogation or two away from being assured a permanent future with her beloved mother.

Though still…

She looked over at Renaldo when Hilary stopped swinging her around. "Why would it be a bad idea for Mom and Uncle Humbert to date? He's been denying it for months, but he and Mom think a lot alike and I think their personalities compliment each other nicely. It sure would be nice for Mom to get over her own dating fears."

Hilary exchanged a look with a grim-faced Renaldo.

"The queen found one other detail from your mother's blood, but I don't think you'll like it very much," the bodyguard tried to reason.

She crossed her arms at the two of them. "If I can take Mom being a Nothing, I'm sure I can handle another surprise. Try me."

Hilary took in a deep breath. "Very well. According to what her blood says… Haru is getting close to twelve years old."

Yuki blinked. "She's forty-five."

Hilary laughed nervously, drawing imaginary circles on her niece's hair. "I know that, you know that. But her blood disagrees. The queen's calculated that every four years counts for one of hers. Haru hasn't so much as hit puberty yet, because she's a child trapped in a young woman's body."

The young child carefully thought that over, mentally weighing the idea against the usual behavior she's witnessed from her beloved mother.

Haru still thought kissing was 'icky'. She absolutely _loved_ playing with Yuki and Toby, and she usually brought herself to Yuki's level instead of trying to be an adult about it. Sure, plenty of adults loved sweets, but it was hilarious watching her mother mentally tell herself 'no' repeatedly if her daughter wasn't interested. Bruce and Tim had never batted an eye when she slid down one of his banisters when they visited Gotham. Even Drac was more outraged than surprised at her very childish pranks, or so her mother reported after each one…

" _Say we were the same age… If there was absolutely nothing holding us together… would you have been my friend?"_

Yuki closed her eyes slowly for a long moment before locking them on her aunt. "I guess that explains her doll collection."


	24. Glad

**Chapter Twenty Four: Glad**

 _You're not who I thought you were. And I'm glad._

 _-Belle/Lacey, Once Upon a Time_

 **xxXxx**

 _Haru stared at him, an angry snarl overtaking her features. "_ _So_ _ **that's**_ _why you hate me_ _," she hissed, grabbing a fistful of his clothes to shove him against the closest wall right after they got back from filming early after Drac had an accidental meeting with a displeased skunk._

 _Baron normally could have stopped such an aggressive move, but he was not expecting the harsh treatment_ _ **or**_ _the strength as she kept him pinned with only one arm._

 _He didn't_ _hate_ _her, but he was too surprised to correct her, especially with the terrible fire he could see in her burning eyes._

 _If only his baby sister wasn't witnessing this!_

" _I ran off with Louis because he was the first person to_ _ **ever**_ _say or show that he loved me,"_ _she growled in a threatening tone._ _"I had just turned sixteen. I was lonely, desperate, and naïve. I had been waiting my whole miserable life for a hero to take me away from the old man so that I could live happily ever after, or at least one person to see something worthwhile in me. All I got was a manipulative jerk that wanted someone to keep a roof over his head and food in his mouth until_ _he_ _became a star, not me. It nearly destroyed me when I finally let myself see that I was little more than a temporary convenience for him. The old man_ _ **literally**_ _held the door open for me to leave without bothering to find out if I was running away by myself or not the night he caught me sneaking out. I was_ _ **nothing**_ _to either of them! The only reason they ever regretted letting me outside their control was because I became a success without their express permission and neither of them could steal what I earned anymore._ _ **No one missed me or tried to find me when I left that town!**_ _"_

… _No one? But surely authorities would have been informed of a missing girl!_

 _She leaned closer, although she had to stand on her tiptoes, pressing even harder into his chest to make breathing difficult._ _"I don't know what that girl did to you, but stop taking it out on me. I am not her. I am still paying for my sins, but_ _ **I will not**_ _pay for hers. If you're going to hate me, have the decency to do it for something_ _ **I'm**_ _responsible for. That seems a little more like 'proper' behavior to me."_

 _With that, she finally took her hand off him, nearly tossing him to the ground in the process. The cat man stumbled away, favoring the sore spot as he stared at her in complete shock, barely even getting his breath back._

 _This was unlike anything he had seen of the unusually even-tempered brown hair._

" _I was interested in being your friend, Baron," Haru stated in a fierce but normal tone. "No funny business, just friends. But if you're petty enough to take your anger out on a stranger for something she isn't responsible for, then I'm glad you shut me out. I won't be bothering you outside of work again, but you try to pull another 'holier than thou', I_ _ **will**_ _punch you."_

 _With that, she began marching into the castle, not caring that he was still staring at her. "As you can see, it will hurt more than you think."_

xxXxx

As soon as the door closed, Haru turned her gaze to the feline lord and gave a careful smile. "Baron, I have a confession to make."

He cocked his head, trying to ignore the twisting of his organs at what she had to reveal.

But at least his spell should keep their conversation private for now, even if he was under orders to pass on anything useful to his monarchs.

"I covet your sister. It's no wonder why you didn't want Drac finding out about her."

He managed a nervous laugh, though still tense for the conversation still to come. "From the little I've gleaned of your own sister, I don't find that a surprising remark. How are you feeling?"

"Like Renaldo strapped on a pair of ice skates and danced on me for a few hours," she answered casually, using her still-stiff limbs to tug her blankets up a little higher despite being decent. "I hate letting someone else doctor me, but Timothy and Hiromi were pretty ruthless."

' _Just let it slide, Hilary's stated that she enjoys the nickname,'_ Baron repeated in his mind, feeling even worse than before. "Miss Haru, after seeing footage of what happened the other day... well, I really have some things I need to say." _'Heavens, why does this have to be so_ _ **hard**_ _?'_ Swallowing with difficulty, he forced the words out. "One is that you have been much more lenient toward Renaldo and myself than we necessarily deserved. The other is that if you ever take up jousting with more fervor, I _will_ retire. You're not an opponent I'd look forward to facing."

"Sounds like Renaldo warned you. Party pooper," she laughed but shook her head with a half-smile. "As much fun as the sport is, you're not going to have to worry about that for a while. I'm under threat of getting tied down if I exert myself too much." It was then that she looked down at her lap guiltily. "I wanted you to give me a chance when you didn't know. I mean, I slipped up a few times, but it was obvious you weren't taking them too seriously."

He smiled, and then showed what he was hiding behind his back. It was a pleasant wicker basket, filled with nicely rolled fabric scraps and yarn skeins in different pastel colors, held tight with yellow ribbons. There were even a few small batts of carded wool and a slim wooden spindle tucked into one of the tied packages.

"I thought it might be appropriate to offer an apology gift for my deplorable behavior, and you did say that you can spin." He dared to come close enough to set his offering on her lap.

Her eyes softened as she explored the contents with childish delight.

' _Of course she's childish. She's mentally almost twelve.'_ He mentally kicked himself again for being so cold to her just for Drac's lies. What trouble he could have saved the both of them if he had just invited her to a private tea after the first meeting?

" _Ohh_ , Baron… a simple 'sorry' would have been plenty. But I don't think I have the willpower to turn any of this away!" She rubbed her face happily against a grey-blue skein that he had hand-picked for her. "I never thought to ask Hiromi, but where does your family keep getting all the awesome yarn?"

"It's from the family business. A majority of our income comes from our rabbits and silkworms," he explained, thrilled that she appreciated quality. He helped himself to Julia's chair by the bed since this was bound to be a long talk.

Her large brown eyes snapped open and focused on him. "Really? That sure explains why you kept flinching when I was working on Yuki's cowl."

He bit his lower lip, determined not to get into another disagreement with her.

She bit back a laugh as if reading his mind. "It's okay, I didn't like the yarn either. I just have a hard time saying no to Yuki when she begs me to make her something with a specific medium. Or when she just begs. Those big blue eyes of hers are _dangerous_ ," she crooned lovingly.

Baron helped himself to the frames by her bed, studying the first one with a guilty expression.

Still, it appeared that Renaldo's hunch was correct. The way the man was holding Haru close seemed more like a lover's, despite Haru's oblivious smile of bliss. "… Drac's father must have been quite exceptional, for you to have shown such restraint for so long," he dared to say after letting her play with her gifts for a little longer.

"You would understand if you had ever met him," Haru sighed, placing everything back in the basket and setting it on the bedside table. "Before he entered my life, no one respected me. No one really wanted me around, even Louis. And then _he_ comes in out of nowhere and just takes me under his wing when it would have been less trouble to let me be someone else's problem."

He looked up at her sharply. "That's the exact kind of talk that Yuki uses about you."

A wistful smile crossed her lips. "There are a lot of parallels with my relationships between my daughter and true father. Dad used to tell me how intimidating he thought my opinion of him was, but I couldn't see how. But thanks to Yuki, I understand exactly what he meant." She shook her head tiredly while resting against the pillows. "That girl has me on such a high pedestal, I can't shake the fear that someday I'm going to disappoint her."

"Did your father ever disappoint you?" he asked pointedly.

"He surprised me a few times, but it was nothing we weren't able to work through. He and Yuki would have been best buddies if he had lived long enough to meet her," she added wistfully. "Even if they'd spend a majority of the time ganging up on me over this or that. It would have been fun to hear them just enjoy each other's company." She then gave a dark look off into empty air. "Stinking lung cancer. That's something I'd _really_ enjoy murdering."

Baron looked down, not really sure what to say. He knew the pain of losing parents as much as she did. "I'm sorry."

She shook herself out of her depression to offer a wan smile. "Thank you. So… now that you're willing to listen, is there anything you'd like to talk about now that we're less likely to get interrupted? I promise to say so if I'm not interested in exploring certain subjects instead of thinking up a good lie. Just keep in mind that I will keep details from you as long as you're under contract to Drac. No offense."

"None taken." He took in a deep breath, knowing that he couldn't ask for a better opening than that. "… The reason I was so short with you was because Drac told me that you once promised to marry him, and then backed out at the last moment. It reminded me too much of a… similar experience."

Haru groaned, covering her face with one hand. When she gained the energy to speak, her tone was that of a tired tutor that had covered a subject a few too many times. "When he was eight and I was eighteen, I was coming to terms with the fact that my 'boyfriend' never cared about me and only wanted someone to take care of him until he could make it big as an actor. Drac told me not to cry anymore since he was going to marry me when he grew up. **Because I assumed that his crush on my voice would die out before then** ," she stressed meaningfully. "I told him we would talk it over after he graduated college. Before you ask, yes, I _have_ been kicking myself for years for not shutting him down that day."

Baron wasn't going to ask, but allowed her to keep talking.

Her eyes turned dark and sulky at the hated memory. "Dad was gone by the time anything came from that moment of stupidity. On my thirty-fourth birthday when he was twenty-four and fresh out of college, Drac dragged me to a baseball game even though I wanted a nice quiet day at home with no screaming people or cameras being shoved in my face."

' _I can understand wanting some measure of peace.'_

"I don't mind sports if I'm playing them, but I think it's boring to just sit there and watch other people have fun. On top of that, I hate baseball. During the halftime, in the middle of some advertisements, the billboard flashed 'MARRY ME HARU!' At first I thought it was another random fan I've never met-"

' _ **Another?**_ _'_ Baron couldn't resist thinking in surprise.

"-But then the screen switched to us as Drac starts slipping this ridiculously huge diamond ring on my finger while I stared at the screen in shock. I'd show you the video footage that's still lurking around the internet, but knowing Drac, he's had some computer guy block those particular videos from the castle's service." Haru seemed to sink deeper into the pillows and tried to pull the blankets a little tighter to combat an unseen chill. "Despite how I act, Baron, I really dislike being front of crowds. Most of the time I pretend they're birds or snowflakes. You know, something that isn't sentient, just so I can do my thing. There were _thousands_ of people there that day, and millions more watching on TV. He knew this. If he had been as confident as he acted, he wouldn't have tried to peer pressure me into just rolling with the engagement."

To emphasis her irritation, she started throwing her hands from side to side as she brought up more points. "I called him out on us being siblings, he insisted adopted siblings didn't count, I stormed out on him, he tried emotional blackmail and bribery before regular blackmail to make me reconsider, but nothing worked. I walked right up to the reporters following us and told them some embarrassing secrets that I'd rather have kept to myself. It wasn't until later that I realized that those were worse things than I had confided in Drac, but at least it served the point of how little I was interested in marrying him.

Haru looked down and started twiddling her thumbs guiltily. "I should be ashamed of this, but even before that happened, I'd sometimes… not answer my phone when his name showed up or be 'busy' when he wanted to drag me somewhere. I'm pretty sure you've noticed by now that being around him is very emotionally draining."

"I've noticed," Baron admitted, feeling guilty for not speaking to the brunette in the first place. He gave himself another mental kick.

"It was why I was kind of grateful that I only saw him for summers and two weeks in winter for most of the years we knew each other since he was in boarding school right here in England. Whenever we spent quality time together, even when he was a kid, it always had to be what _he_ wanted to do. I let him choose at first because I wanted him to like me and I was trying to make up for the fact that I was spending a lot more time around his father than he was. The two times we did something I picked out, ice skating and just walking around a park and talking, he spent the whole time complaining about all the fun we would be having if we had done what he wanted and then blaming me when it was over and he didn't enjoy himself. Whenever I did something fun while he was in town, I'd get an earful for not spending the time with him instead. Forgive me for not wanting to sign up for a lifetime of being a bobble head nodding every time he decides something."

She looked down sadly. "Dad even gave me full permission in his final letter to me to disown Drac when he eventually proposed. He always felt bad about being a better parent to me than to his own son. That was partially why he adopted me without permission; he wanted to make sure that I had a rock-solid excuse to turn him down since he knew a romance wouldn't last between us. For peanut butter's sake, _Yuki_ could tell from a photo of Drac that it wouldn't have worked. The person he's chosen to be is too much like the monster I grew up fearing. Seriously. Just take away the money, thin layer of class, make Drac thirty years older. The two would be twins."

"… Without permission," was the first thing Baron could think of to say to all this.

Haru nodded, giving him a few minutes to absorb the idea before continuing. "I didn't want to take away Drac's inheritance, and I didn't want anyone to get the idea that I stayed around Dad than for any other reason than the fact that I worshipped him," she explained, her large brown eyes turning wistful as she thought of her first true friend. "He fixed things by adopting me anyway, but leaving a generous donation to a homeless shelter and me with a few boxes of sentimental knick-knacks." She sighed in longing. " _That's_ the kind of manipulation I miss. Dad was awesome at finding compromises that left both of us satisfied. The closest Drac can do is wording things as if I'm getting what I want, but it's just paving the way for what he wants. There's nothing you can do to convince me he isn't planning something else that's even more stupid."

"… Then I won't bother." The feline lord took a deep breath. "Did you mean what you said earlier? About befriending me?"

"Baron, whatever you do, don't feel obligated into it now," Haru replied tiredly. "Some personalities clash too much, it's perfectly normal."

"But my behavior wasn't," he retorted, forcing himself to straighten and look her in the eye. "I didn't want anything to do with you after hearing about how you ran away from your home-"

The soft brown in her eyes immediately turned as hard as ice. " _That wasn't a home. I thought I made that clear._ "

He gave her a startled look but didn't back down. "That was merely my first reason. I did indeed hear of what you are capable of, but I didn't take any of it seriously because of your appearance and tendency to laugh off insults. I thought it was rather conceited of you to believe that you could protect your daughter on your own."

She gave him a wry smile as the ice in her eyes softened. "It's been a while since I was called that, but you'll still need to come up with something more original."

But the lord shook his head in refusal. "I'm not going to bother with insults anymore. I've permanently lost the right to say anything like that to you again. I don't know how I'm going to completely make this up to you-"

"You just did," she interrupted with a smile.

Baron gave her a somewhat annoyed look. "I hardly think one little basket of goodies is going to make right **three and a half months** of maltreatment, especially when part of it was in front of Yuki."

Haru gave a small laugh while smirking at him. "It's not the basket, though I do love it. Baron, I'm used to people not apologizing when they hurt me. They justify, they explain, they get defensive, even or especially when I do them a big favor like save their ungrateful lives. Precious few are willing to work for forgiveness, so the fact that you want to means a lot to me."

' _Heart of a child, indeed.'_ What else has she forgiven, to be so far away from her own kind?

Whatever _they_ were.

"Besides, if I didn't know how to forgive people that had the wrong idea about me, I never would have met Yuki," she stated while giving a brief body stretch. "Or have friends, period."

Baron gave her a confused look. "Did her caretaker offend you?"

"Oh, he offended me all right," she growled savagely, startling him a bit. "But that creep got his just desserts without my help." Then she forced herself to take in several cleansing breaths. "Maybe a new topic-"

"No, you have me curious," Baron insisted, scooting his chair a little closer to her. "What does forgiveness have to do with how you met Yuki?"

She gave him a flat look. "It involves the serial killer clown I tried to tell you about. It's a long, odd story that started near the beginning of my career, and it's not pretty. You sure you don't want to talk about something else?"

Oh, she was **good** at encouraging his curiosity!

Baron swallowed his pride one more time. "Please accept my apologies over not taking the time to listen before now. Tell me about this strange clown of yours."

She gave a tired sigh and tried to grab her… what was it called again?

Baron shook the idea out of his head and handed the small slab to her.

"Thank you." Using a small stick, she turned on the device and played with it for a few seconds.

Baron scooted his chair against the wall in order to get a better look.

Haru finally stopped and enlarged a photo of a suited clown that was howling with mad laughter outside a burning building. "This is Joker. Twenty-five years ago, he had Gotham City in a constant state of terror. He killed, he robbed, he had followers and publicity, just about everything. Even fights with one of the best superheroes of all time!" She switched to a photo of a caped figure dragging a beaten version of the clown to some uniformed officers.

"Gotham is where Bruce Wayne lives. He had an assistant book me to sing at one of his charities for orphans. He lost his parents when he was eight, so he has a very special place in his heart for kids with nowhere else to go."

Her eyes turned downward as a terrible anguish filled her features. "… Regardless of facts, I was treated like an orphan until meeting Dad at eighteen, so I was thrilled to help out with the charity. The stinking mermaid rumors were a lot more rampant back then since the movie that started them was still fresh on people's minds, and I couldn't so much as ask a stranger where a bathroom was without them thinking that I was… interested in funny business," she finished lamely.

' _Twenty-five years ago. Twenty years old. Mentally almost seven.'_ Baron again felt that twinge of guilt, remembering that she had to have been mentally four when she ran away from home with a stranger, just for a scrap of hope.

"People never got over that irritating habit, but I was taking a break from acting at the time to get some schooling in, and so I could have a bit of recovery time after killing Louis." She paused, giving him a slow look. "Did your sister tell you about that?"

"She did," he confirmed, using a hand gesture to urge her forward.

Haru breathed a small sigh of relief. "Good, I hate talking about it. Bruce took the mermaid rumors seriously despite being a player among the ladies. His butler met me at the airport, took me to Wayne Manor, made sure I had everything I needed and did what he could to keep me from helping more than I had to with the decorations and such. Honestly, people seem to think that because I'm famous that I don't know how to handle a broom! I was washing dishes when Dad found me, for peanut butter's sake!"

Baron jumped again at her mood change, but smiled nervously. "I'm sitting right here, Haru."

She closed her eyes, and he could see her lips silently count to ten between heavy breaths. "Sorry. Pet peeve. Anyway, Alfred- the butler- explained that Bruce was busy a lot and I probably would only see him at the charity ball. He has a bit of a reputation for not always showing up on time, so I got to use a speech I had prepared just in case-"

"Hold on, a _speech_?" Baron interrupted, leaning closer in spite of himself. "But you just said that you hate the extra attention."

She gave an agreeing shrug. "I do, but I _really_ wanted that charity to raise enough money. Before my speech was over, Joker and some of his goons crashed the party and made a mess of things. He had me cornered in a matter of seconds." Her expression turned dark and full of regret. "Joker was already tempted because of the money, but he came for me. He wanted to be one of the rare individuals to get a kiss from a 'real mermaid'. I hadn't let myself get kissed since Louis, and… he kissed just like Louis used to. It was horrible." She shuddered at the memory.

"What injuries did you inflict on him?" Baron asked, fairly certain that was the direction the story was going to go.

She quite nearly curled into a fetal position under the bedcovers. "What I did to Drac was a mere scolding by comparison. It was how the world found out that I had been secretly taking defense lessons. I didn't want to be a victim again." She looked up at him, silently pleading for him to understand. "I grew up a victim, Baron. Powerless. Defenseless. _Pathetic._ I never wanted to feel that way again if trouble came my way. His own people wouldn't help him against me. He even screamed for Batman to come save him before losing consciousness. Alfred was the only one brave enough in that giant ball room to stop my onslaught. Joker died less than an hour later because of my attack. My second… _human_ kill."

He stared at her for a long moment, even though he was not questioning the credibility of her word on the matter. "Sounds to me like you did Gotham a favor."

She seemed to deflate while setting the slab aside and slinking down into her blankets. "It wasn't my place to kill him. I'm still surprised that the police returned me to Wayne Manor instead of keeping me in a cell. Bruce was waiting for me. He dragged me into the kitchen and we had a long talk over ice cream. To this day, I don't know why he didn't order me out of his home instead of offering a sympathetic ear. He even allowed me to stay long enough for me to get through my court hearings."

Baron cocked his head at her. "If you had destroyed such a villain in my kingdom, the king would knight you."

Haru managed a rueful smile at the statement. "That sort of happened in another kingdom eight years later. I hold the title of 'lady' even if I don't insist on using it. Queen Cassandra was going to knight me, but she couldn't keep a straight face while practicing saying-"

"Dame Haru," Baron finished with her, strangely unable to keep his face from breaking into a smile.

It was the closest anyone had come in _years_ to making him laugh.

She finished up a few of her own giggles before continuing. "But back to the story, my actions caused a huge public debate over whether or not to outright kill supervillains since they keep escaping whatever prison they're thrown into, and my direct approach eliminated one of the more dangerous ones. During this time, I was constantly getting flowers sent to me from grateful families of victims and survivors, but it felt more like I was getting them for my heart's funeral. I was worried sick that I was turning into a monster, so-"

"You're not a monster!" Baron interjected firmly, standing to his full height for emphasis. "I would have died without you!"

Haru barely blinked a reaction as she tilted her head up to maintain eye contact. "You wouldn't have been in that situation if I had refused to work with that rat."

His throat threatened to swell up, but he had to press on. "Haru, things happen. You're not the one I blame. Drac is far more of a monster than you are; _he's_ the one that insisted on the hydra being real."

"Can I take it for granted that you didn't tell me because of your contract with him?" she asked tiredly.

Baron thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't lying as he nodded. "… Drac said that it would terrify you. I didn't understand how he thought you could sing through an unexpected hydra attack, but he wasn't in a listening mood when I tried to point out the flaws in his plan."

His companion gave a dismissive snort. "He's _never_ in a listening mood."

"Until you lose your temper," the feline admitted, taking back his seat.

"And now you know why I try so hard not to let anything get me **that** angry." She held up her hands and bandaged arms for his viewing pleasure. "I've only told you a portion of the blood I've washed off these hands, Baron. You can slay only so many monsters before you feel yourself turn into one. If Drac ever makes a try for my spot as top monster, I'll show no mercy. Just stay out of the way if you get in the crossfire, understand?"

' _A woman that's mentally twelve-years-old is used to killing. A woman that's mentally twelve-years-old is promising to kill if it becomes necessary.'_ His heart could only break that this was what she was used to.

Haru buried her arms back into the blankets for warmth. "Back to the point, I hated those flowers."

"Do these bother you?" he asked, pointing at the ones his friends and colleagues had seen fit to send through the mirror.

She gave a fond look to the vases of flora threatening to take over her room. "Those are fine. I appreciate that your friends are willing to tell me how important you are to them, and it… helps, even when some of them offer to babysit Yuki so I can take my time with killing Drac when the time comes. To cut to the point, I lost my temper when a bunch of reporters were demanding details on the court proceedings, so I wheeled around and made a general announcement. I explained all the guilt I felt. I explained feeling like a monster, despite how much better the world is without Joker. I struggled to say that self-defense is for protecting yourself, not killing people since I never stopped getting letters from young girls that want to be just like me."

Baron couldn't blame this shudder in the least. Not with what she had to have gone through to lose her birthright, even without the additional trauma of ending lives.

After a moment, she collected herself enough to continue the narrative. "I told the public that if they really wanted to show their appreciation for what I did, they would donate to Bruce's orphan charity instead of sending me gifts that made me feel worse. Because in the long run, it was going to mean a lot more to me that little kids with nowhere else to go at least had a warm bed and something to eat over flowers that were eventually going to wilt."

Baron smiled a little. "A very admirable decision. Were your wishes respected?"

Haru smiled happily while nodding. "And _how_! Between the private donations and the proceeds from a cd I made to help with the guilt after getting acquitted, Bruce had enough money to start a foundation that was able to spread to eight countries, one of which happened to be Japan. I met Yuki in Japan," she added when he wasn't following. "Yuki was being 'taken care of' by the Japanese branch of the foundation I helped fund and was named after the theme of my speech. You can imagine how cooperative they were when I used Bruce as a reference when I adopted her."

'… _This explains more than it should.'_

She smiled shyly. "Bruce believed those silly 'man-eating' rumors until he actually sat down and talked to me. He tried to ask me out as an apology for both avoiding me and going through a traumatic experience under his roof, but I told him I'd rather have a friend, and he took me up on that. When he's in town, he visits me, when I'm in Gotham, I visit him. I'm the godmother to his wards, even if they're too old to really need me anymore. He's… pretty much everything I wanted out of Drac. Someone I can depend on in a pinch. Which I guess I proved the other day," she giggled nervously. "He says the video I sent him has been seen over thirty million times already. Oh well, Drac's always been fond of saying 'there's no such thing as bad publicity'."

"I beg to differ," was all Baron was able to answer that with.

"… Come to think of it, maybe I should blame the mermaid rumors about getting to adopt Yuki," Haru mused out loud while rubbing her head with one hand. "Sure would be nice to know that _some_ good came from that constant thorn in my side. For peanut butter's sake; one little mermaid movie, and people **never** let you forget it! I _**despise**_ it whenever a director manages to talk me into something relating to mermaids or myths about them!"

' _But if you are not a mermaid, to what do you owe your ocean scent? What are you, Haru? Why are you in this human world all by yourself?'_

Well… _nearly_ all by herself.

"Is it too late to take up that friendship offer?" he asked a little worriedly. "I would understand if you said no."

She looked over at him, nervously biting her lower lip. "…There's something I should tell you first. I was originally hoping to bring it up after earning your friendship, but considering the circumstances, it would be dishonest not to bring it up now. I'm not interested in you romantically, but I _was_ hoping from the beginning to ask you for a favor."

Here it was. What she wanted from him badly enough to ignore every snub and rude remark that nearly four months could allow, never mind deal with a lecherous, deceiving adoptive brother she had once been forced to disown. But now that he knew that he really was dealing with an overgrown child, let alone such an undemanding one, he felt confident that he could handle what she wanted.

"I'm all ears," he promised, looking solely at her and trying his best not to let his large ears turn toward her.

She did _not_ need a distraction concerning his authenticity.

Haru took in a deep breath… let it out, tried again… let it out. Her eyes were wide and panicked as she tried to force her mouth to work, but something was going wrong.

' _Not even facing a hydra made her this nervous,'_ Baron couldn't help noting, keeping his own mouth closed. The last thing he should do is give her additional pressure, he could wait a few seconds more to find out what was going on inside that head of hers.

Losing patience with herself, Haru raised a fist and slammed it into her own chest after taking a deeper breath. "Yuki's godfather!" escaped her control before she started gasping.

He cocked his head at her. "What about Bruce?"

"Not Bruce. You," she clarified while rubbing where she had hit herself with a wince. "I want to know if you're interested in the job."

His large green eyes turned even larger at the unexpected offer. He could hardly believe such good luck! _'Does Renaldo like_ _ **food**_ _?'_ "… What would Bruce say about getting replaced so easily by someone you barely know?"

Haru was studying her lap as she answered, still rubbing the sore spot. "Bruce only agreed to being Yuki's godfather on the condition that if I met someone more qualified for the job, I'd hand over the reins, so to speak. I got him to agree with the job at all when I pointed out that she'd go to Drac if I didn't name a godparent."

Baron gave a deep shudder of his own at the horrible idea.

Haru smiled with a bit of sadness. "Exactly. Bruce is completely intimidated by the idea of raising a little girl, and… he and Yuki never made a connection beyond tolerating each other for my sake. She gets along with Tim like they're long lost siblings, and I was considering switching to him, but he's still so young that it doesn't seem fair to make him be a makeshift parent if anything were to happen to me."

Her brown eyes cautiously looked up at him. "Renaldo probably told you some nonsense about how I reacted to Drac flashing your picture at me, but this is what happened; yes, you're the most impressive Baron I've seen yet, and I've seen some pretty amazing ones. But the first thing that hit me about you was that Yuki **needed** to meet you."

He gaped, unable to say a word.

"I made her a promise before adopting her that if she accepted me as her mother, I would do everything in my power to put her needs above my wants. I'm going to be as frank as possible; few things would please me more than to keep Yuki to myself for the rest of her days," she admitted a little shamefully.

 _Her_ days. So Haru knows about her impressive lifespan.

She kept talking, her eyes distant as if all she could see was her beloved daughter. "But that's not fair to her. Yuki's… I've never been able to shake the feeling that she's destined for something much bigger than being with me," she admitted, her voice growing soft with remorse. "I've done what I could to encourage her gifts, but quite simply, there are some things she's not getting from the way I've been raising her. She barely says a word in front of people she doesn't know, and I guard her too well to keep anyone that might hurt her at bay. I told her from the beginning that I wasn't going to be able to give her a dad-"

' _Because you're really a child with no urges to find a mate quite yet.'_

From the queen's calculations, Haru wasn't going to feel the need for a mate until she hit sixty-four, long after it would do Yuki any good. Would she still look the same as she did now?

"-But that doesn't stop her from wanting one, or at least an older man that she can look up to. It's been clear to me for a while that she needs something more constant than two summer months with Tim and a random visit from Bruce every year, along with medical and dental trips to Gotham. My hesitation after seeing your picture had less to do with whether I should take the job as opposed to trying to figure out whether or not I could arrange a meeting without Drac's assistance. As you can probably tell, I couldn't."

Baron felt the cold reality hit him worse than any injury that he had ever received.

She started rubbing one arm from nerves. "So, this is why I was so unoffended that you were willing to sneak to see her and favored her so much even before meeting her. Or why I did nothing to stop your visits when I finally lost my temper with you and talked Yuki out of cutting ties so that you could prove that you want to stay a part of her life. I figured that even if you didn't want anything to do with me, you'd eventually be willing to come to an agreement for her sake since I've seen nothing to indicate that you want to say goodbye to Yuki when filming ends. Hiromi mentioned that you pretty much raised her and look how awesome _she_ turned out. I have little doubt that giving me a constant hand with Yuki will be a challenge for you."

"… **I am an idiot** ," he groaned, getting up from the chair to pace the room in an almost drunken stupor. "I am a colossal _**idiot**_!"

Between a child trapped in a young woman's body and a twenty-nine-year old that should have known better, the **child** had been the level-headed one!

"Oh dear, you're taking this worse than I thought," Haru fretted, looking guilty. "Look, I swear that I'm not interested in forcing you into anything. But I think it's fair enough to tell you that I'll have to relocate with Yuki after filming's done."

He stopped his pacing to look at her, feeling guiltier than ever.

"Now that I know Drac's known about the Refuge, it's not safe to stay there anymore, regardless of how much money or years I've invested in it. I just don't trust him to really leave me alone since twelve years of no contact wasn't long enough for him to move on from his delusional infatuation. If you were to offer some advice on where we could move when the time comes, I could be persuaded to listen. Especially if it's what's best for my daughter."

Idiot. Idiot, _idiot,_ _ **idiot**_! She's wanted to be an ally from the start!

"… I swear I'm going to make this up to you, Haru," he choked out.

A small smile of pleasure crossed her lips. "I told you; the fact that you want to is-"

"Did you let that satisfy you when Joker died?" he interrupted, making her flinch with guilt.

"Then it's not going to be good enough for me, either. I'm not saying no, Haru. I want what you're offering more than you can _imagine_."

If that wasn't honest, he didn't know what was.

He took off his dark grey top hat and set it against his heart to show his sincerity. "But until such time as I feel worthy, I will respectfully ask you to wait."

Haru smiled happily with relief. "I don't recommend making me wait _too_ long since Drac will want to stick his oversized nose into this, but yes. I can wait. I guess Yuki was right about this, too."

"She _knew_ you wanted this from me?" he asked in horror, but she shook her head gently.

"I didn't even tell Bruce, though I think he might have guessed by now. My Snow Angel was pretty insistent that we could be friends if barriers were broken."

He gave a small, self-loathing laugh. "It's not the only thing broken, I assure you."

ooOoo

Toby ran after the stick as fast as his little body could go, snatching up the branch and proudly presenting it to Hilary.

"Um, good boy!" she nervously congratulated, trying to wrestle the toy from the dog who was enjoying his new playmate a little too much. "Yuki, how do you make him let go?"

"Here's my favorite method; fetch, boy!" She threw another stick, making the basset hound drop the current one and run after the second with a happy bark.

"Are all dogs like this?" Julia asked, trying to cover up her heavy amusement.

Yuki grinned up at her. "Most of them enjoy a good game of fetch, but Toby's one of the few dogs that's never tried to scare or bite me. Mom's still a bit surprised that I chose him instead of a rabbit for a pet."

"So am I. Your first mother's love of rabbits was legendary. We all thought for sure that she would at least come back for _them_ ," Hilary stated before seeing something distant between the trees. Her face lit up at the familiar figure. "Humbert! How did it go?"

"I need to speak to Yuki in private," he answered, stealing a lick to his sister's forehead before sweeping his niece into his arms to march even deeper into the forest. "We can share information and my new plans when we get back. Thomas, don't you dare follow us."

The two Moon siblings and crow watched them go in shock, Toby trailing behind them as Hilary touched the spot he had licked, not bothering to control her tears of happiness.

" _It's working already!_ "

ooOoo

"She broke you," Yuki stated with a large grin.

"I deserved it several times over," he admitted shamefully, eventually coming to a stop next to a creek. He sat down on a large rock, keeping the girl on his lap and in his arms. "You were right. You were right about everything."

"Told you so," she responded smugly. Sure, that kind of talk would have gotten her scolded by her mother, but it was nearing four months overdue.

"Yes, you did. From the beginning." He squeezed her a little tighter, for once ignoring Toby's pleading for attention as he put his front paws on the rock to make it easier for head scratches. "But you weren't just right about your mum. You were right about me as well."

She broke free from his embrace enough to look him square in the eye. She was unsurprised, but willing to listen.

Baron took in a deep breath for his confession. "… My intentions _were_ to get the last triumph over your birth parents for how they hurt me. I hope you will believe me when I say it didn't take long for me to think of you as my own. I just have trouble expressing such things." He exhaled tiredly. "I was intentionally trying to find fault with Haru so that I wouldn't feel as much guilt about taking you away from her. You'll be pleased to know that this wasn't as easy a task as I tried to make it seem. Other than opinions and techniques… I think she did better by you than I would have in her position."

Yuki nodded her agreement. "She's always tried to do right by me. Even before I was her responsibility."

Baron nodded, his eyes a million miles away as he held her close. "Do you know what really angered me about Louise and Neal? If they had just told me how they felt before everyone started preparing for the wedding, I'd have let them be. I would have been crushed, but I wouldn't have stood in their way. But _no_!" he fumed, slamming a fist against the rock he was sitting on, making Toby whimper in surprise. "They snuck out like cowards with only a written apology! I was heartbroken, embarrassed, and humiliated in one of the most public ways imaginable! It took me over a year to gain the energy just to walk out of my home."

Yuki wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed in comfort. He deserved that much.

He held onto her even tighter with the one hand before showing her an empty hand. A worn red book materialized in his grasp. It had no title, and looked like a diary.

Her heart pounded, praying that she knew what it was.

"I believe this world would call this a 'text' record." He gave a heavy sigh. "I have studied this and Neal's copy more thoroughly than any other book. For the months after my humiliation, I studied this for answers on where I went wrong, for Louise to have chosen another. Yet no matter how often I searched, there was only one conclusion. The same one she told me in her goodbye letter."

Yuki cocked her head at him. "So why did she choose a librarian over a baron?"

He closed his eyes painfully. "Because I let her. I was careless. Our engagement was arranged when we were children, so I never felt the need to woo her myself. I took it for granted that I had nothing to worry about concerning our future, so I let myself focus on my studies, and then my duties when Father's wounds caught up with him. I felt that I saw her about as often as I would after we were married, so I never thought to ask if she was content with the way things were. I had no idea how lonely she felt, since she couldn't feel at ease with her own class or among the common folk. I could have helped her with that if she had asked, or if I had asked if she was content. Anyone asking a question would have helped."

Then he grimaced. "Neal was the one to catch onto how she felt and reach out to her. They knew people would talk if they were seen together too often, so Louise came up with these diaries. It was meant only to be a comfort. Something to make the two of them feel less alone, since Neal had never cared much for physical activity when there were books to read and discuss, mostly with your mother. I didn't realize that he felt outside the circle as well. It was a surprise to both of them when it was time to make wedding plans, but they were the ones that had fallen in love. I still think they could have made the time to tell me any of this to my face, but it doesn't change the fact that I share the blame for that humiliation, despite the years I've spent trying to deny or forget about it."

He gently placed the book in her trembling hands. "Please forgive me. I should have given this to you from the beginning."

Yuki held the book tight against her chest, smiling happily as she tried not to cry against his chest. "U-Uncle Humbert? Things are… going to get better now, aren't they?"

He nodded without hesitation. "They will. You have my word. I will do everything in my power to pave Haru's way to our kingdom. She will be nothing less than a full member of the family. But I need your help for that."

Still cuddling the book, she leaned against her uncle's chest in perfect contentment. "Aunt Hilary explained already. If Mom knows what she is, I'll be able to make her reveal it if I start trying."

He rubbed her back thoughtfully. "I think she does know. When I truly listened to what she had to say, certain wording made it clear that she has almost never felt comfortable around humans-"

"Even I could have told you that," Yuki muttered under her breath.

Baron tried to give her a cross look, but sighed in agreement before long. "She expects to outlive you, even with her protectiveness. Even if you can't make her say it out loud, enough hints for us to figure it out would help. But be warned that our kind don't have a whole lot of information on water creatures other than fish. Haru was educating **me** on mermaid lore to ensure I can't think of her as one ever again."

"With how often she has to fight the rumors, you can't blame her for knowing a lot about them by now." She snuggled deeper against him, still gripping the book as she watched Toby quench his thirst in the creek. "Just relax, Uncle Humbert. There's _no one_ that can make Mom talk like I can."

He smiled fondly at her, sneaking in another hug. "She **did** call your big blue eyes dangerous. But that will have to wait for now."

"How come?" she asked as he picked her up and started carrying her back to the others, Toby happily shadowing them.

"You will need to be a part of this counsel on how to proceed from here. Oh, and Haru yawned during our discussion, so I made her take a nap. Don't worry, Jeremy promised to keep an ear out for her when he switched out with Herald."

Yuki started laughing, ecstatic that he finally gave a care about her mom. "She broke you but _good._ "

He wrinkled his nose in slight disapproval. "I wouldn't call that grammatically correct… but you are still correct. I should have listened to you from the start."

She grinned happily while resting her head on his chest. "Told you so."


	25. Adversity

**Chapter Twenty Five: Adversity**

 _The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all._

 _-The Emperor, Disney's 'Mulan'_

 **xxXxx**

" _Are you ready for this?"_

" _No. Let's do it," Haru answered, fastening the last strap of her harness._

" _I mean, you're clearly terrified."_

" _You're getting paid for your time. What's next?" she asked while fastening on a helmet with goggles._

 _The instructor sighed and made sure the cords were properly connected and anchored down. "Just jump."_

 _Haru could feel her head spin as she looked down the side of the country bridge. The valley far below was lush and green, but all it would take is one mistake for her to turn at least a spot of it red. Taking in a deep breath, she climbed up the side of the iron bridge, whispering encouragement to herself as she continued to tremble._

" _Do it. No more shackles. No more fear._ _ **I**_ _am my own master." Closing her eyes, she let herself fall off the bridge before she or her instructor could talk her out of her decision._

 _Her lungs immediately screamed for all they were worth, but her blood was racing with the wind that seemed to embrace her._

 _Something strange happened, just as the bungee was starting to stretch with her weight. Her eyes were shut tight with terror, but it was as if a secondary wind wrapped itself around her, setting her free from most of the protective gear._

 _Even as she panicked from the sensation, one word was whispered into her ear._

 _The_ _ **ugliest**_ _word that she'll ever hear._

 _Her large eyes snapped open in shock as she was drawn gently against a strong chest with blue spandex stretched over it.. A red cape billowed around her before the intruder carried her back up to the bridge._

 _Her instructor was gaping in shock as he saw who it was. "S-Superman?!" he gasped._

" _Sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow this young lady. Have a nice day!" he greeted while setting the empty harness on the bridge's railing. With that, he changed his grip on Haru to a bridal hold and flew away._

 _Despite her terror of the man, she threw her arms around his neck as the world seemed to race beneath them. She'd have to return the helmet later; it and her heavy clothing were quickly proving useful against the fierce wind fighting them. "W-what do you want?" she stammered, not bothering to pretend bravado. "Why do you know_ _ **that word**_ _?!"_

 _He kept his gaze forward as he answered, his blue eyes narrow with intent._ " _A friend told me to pass it on. We need your help saving another friend's life, and the word was to prove that you're the only one we can reach that has a prayer of saving him."_

 _She stared at the legend, feeling her cheeks flush at meeting even more people that knew her horrible secret. "But… I doubt my kind can do much, if you haven't fallen for the mermaid bit and what I am is important enough for you to bring it up. I mean, you're_ _ **Superman**_ _! What could I do that you can't?!"_

" _You can give blood," he answered in a heartbeat._

 _Haru could only feel a chill, although she couldn't explain why. "Who could need blood from_ _ **me**_ _?"_

xxXxx

' _Okay, I can do this. I know Mom better than anyone, this is going to be a cakewalk.'_ "Wish me luck," she whispered to Julia, who nodded silently.

"I'm making lunch if she asks after me. Go get her."

Yuki nodded, slipping through the door and unleashing Toby.

He barked happily before racing for the bed and jumping onto the foot it.

It didn't disturb Haru's slumber, so Yuki curled up next to her and started reading her parents' diary. Toby wasted no time cuddling between his two masters with a contented 'woof'.

 _My, this is strange. What should we speak of first?_

 _ **I'm not certain. How is the weather faring?**_

 _Pleasant, though a little cool. My rabbits are becoming more reluctant to separate, and there's some cumulus overhead. I can hear little Herald practicing his flute. He… could use more practice._

Yuki had to fight back her giggles.

 _ **It's the same as ever in the library. The fire is crackling, and I can hear birds outside the window. I've already placed every book in its home, and I just finished reading Hilary a story. I love how eager she is for stories that aren't as common as the usual favorites.**_

 _Human tales again?_

 _ **They fascinate me! You know the one where Lord Stiltskin had to jump through hoops to help a mother keep a child when he forgot that she didn't have anything for that third night of spinning?**_

 _I remember. How terrified she must have been, not knowing that he didn't want her baby._

Yuki cocked her head. "Interesting," she murmured. If that story was based in fact, she needed to comb Baron's books for a history lesson.

"Mmh?" Haru moaned, twisting herself awake.

The young girl briefly panicked, shutting the book and sliding it under her side of the mattress. "Sorry if I woke you, Mom," she apologized even as she reached to her uncle and queen with her mind. _'She's waking up, Uncle Humbert, your majesty.'_

" _Excellent. Show no mercy."_ The queen wasted no time looking in on the two as her uncle did the same, making Yuki feel more than a little guilty about intentionally making her mom talk about something that had hurt her badly enough to not even **hint** at before now.

"Meh, you know I can't stay angry with you," the woman crooned, wrapping her arms around the girl and holding her close, making Toby whine in protest since he was still between them. The older girl lovingly rubbed her face against her child's hair, enjoying the scent of it.

Yuki let her have this moment, since she needed it too. But duty was still duty. "Mom? I think we need to have a talk about what to do if another monster pops up."

"I will order you to crawl under the bed after I pull my sword out. I wouldn't want you to cut yourself on it, after all." She patted her pillow as if to say that was where the sword was beneath the bed frame.

Yuki indulged herself by checking for a scabbard before resuming the conversation. _'Good thing I consider this normal.'_ "No, I mean, in the future. Timothy won't tell me a lot about your injuries, but the look on his face was pretty grim when talking about meeting you. Can I have Uncle Arthur's phone number?"

Haru looked at her in surprise. "I'm surprised that you still remember him. I mean, he and Mera only dropped by once. Sorry, Sweetness, but I don't have his number."

"What about an email address?" the child persisted.

The brunette actually _giggled_ while shaking her head in good humor. "I don't have that, either. Snow Angel, your uncle Arthur has a delicate position in his work, and he's pretty dedicated to a charity project that's heavily linked to his work. If people found out that he considers me his sister, it would be bad. He intentionally keeps himself away to protect us. I'm still a bit shocked that he came by for a look at you after getting word of the adoption."

Yuki pouted angrily. "So what happens if you need his help in a hurry?"

Haru gave a smirk that seemed as directed at herself as her daughter. "Oh, he made sure I'd be given an emergency way of contacting him and his close friends. But it's kind of like pulling a fire alarm; you get an immediate response, but you can't say in the alarm what the emergency is. I can't guarantee that Arthur would be the one to answer, and they trust me not to use it until I'm in absolute need of help."

" _And I suppose a_ _ **hydra**_ _wasn't a big enough emergency?! What will it take for you to admit that you need help without needing to be bullied into it, woman?!"_ Baron snapped in exasperation.

"What **will** it take for you to ask for help?" Yuki couldn't help repeating. It took all of her willpower not to laugh at her uncles frustration.

"O-Oh boy! The trouble I'd have to be in for _that_ one!" Haru laughed, partially in mortification. But then she winced and started favoring a wound on her side. "Let's hope we never find out, okay Sweetness?"

Yuki wasn't about to relent. "I just don't like this, Mom. How else are we going to get Arthur if _you're_ the one that needs a blood transfusion?"

All the good humor drained from her face. " **No**."

Yuki blinked. "No, what?"

Her mother responded in that slow firm tone that left no room for argument. "Arthur will not provide a blood transfusion. It would… create too many complications."

"Hey, that's not fair! You were willing to do it for him!" the girl pointed out with indignation.

"It's not that he isn't willing, Sweetness. He and Mera are probably the only people on the planet that would be willing to donate a pint for my life and have it do a lick of good. It's… just… my blood… Oh, dear, I didn't think I'd have to talk about this for a while," she fretted.

Yuki reached up and patted her cheek with a needy smile. "Please, Mom? I just don't want to lose you."

Haru's eyes melted with love and worry. She gently ran her fingers through Yuki's thick white hair as she tried to think of a response. "Honey? My blood's… more… _flexible_ than anyone you're likely to meet. Being compatible with Arthur doesn't mean he's compatible with me. You wouldn't _believe_ the rampage he went on when he found out where the blood came from."

This was too important for Yuki to give up now. "So who is compatible? Vicky?"

Haru gave a dismissive snort. "Even if she were, she'd sell her soul to send me to my death."

The little girl stared up at her mother, feeling even more confused than she had before confronting her mother. "How can she not be compatible? She's your twin sister, isn't she?"

One brown eyebrow twitched. "We're fraternal twins, even if the only physical difference is that she's a redhead and was allowed to be his confident and beautiful 'little princess' while I had to be the plain tomboy that had to show a bra strap just to use the girl's bathroom without getting harassed growing up." She then breathed a deep sigh of relief. " _Man_ , was I relieved when Dad found out for work that my birth certificate had 'Haru Yoshioka' instead of 'Harry Jones'. Sure saved the fee for changing my name to something a little more feminine. I was thinking of 'Rose', but couldn't decide on a last name. 'Thorne' felt a little pretentious with 'Rose', even if I liked it best."

Yuki didn't waste time with her next bet as Toby hopped off the bed to reacquaint himself with his water bowl. "I'm guessing Grandma picked out your name, if the old man went that far to not let you know about it."

Her mother nodded grimly. "According to the guy that recorded my name and Vicky's, the old man slapped my mom hard for filling in a name for me while he was distracted with telling the clerk that 'Victoria' was a name fit for a queen, which is what 'his little darling' was born to be." Haru gave a dismissive sniff. "Now look at her. The queen of solitary confinement for killing four rich husbands. Ugh, I wish no one found out that we were disowned twins. All that plastic surgery she put herself through to make people stop comparing her to me didn't save her from a life sentence, even with her husbands' families constantly petitioning for her death."

Yuki _refused_ to believe there wasn't a back up plan for her mother. "Well, is there anyone else? Did Grandma have any family that might be compatible?"

Haru's face turned hard as a stone. "They are unimportant," she stated in a tone that sent chills up Yuki's spine.

"I thought no one was unimportant."

"Where this matter is concerned, they don't mean a thing." Haru reached for her music notes, but Yuki was able to hop over her mother and push them beyond reach.

"Mom, I'm worried sick about you. Do you have any relations that are compatible with your blood type?" Yuki asked again

"It's… Yuki, I _really_ don't want to talk about this!" Haru said with unexpected anger, since it had been three years she had raised her voice in anger to her beloved child.

But that wasn't enough to stop the little girl's mission. "Mom, your life could be in the balance! If you need a blood transfusion and you're unconscious, who do I call? I know I'm little, but I should know _that_ much!"

Haru gave her a look of despair. "Honey… thank you for not questioning why I wanted to keep certain things from you until you're older. It hurts to hear you talk like this."

Yuki crossed her arms with a scowl. "Don't avoid the question, Mom. Who do I call?"

Her mother bit her lip painfully before forcing herself to lock eyes with her child. "… There's a fair chance that I would die if I need a transfusion, Snow Angel. The only people that can help me are kept under constant watch and lockdown, and they'd pretty much have to be strapped down and sedated before anyone can speak of pulling out a needle. But that plan has just a few ethical problems."

"Your family's _that_ dangerous?" Yuki asked in a horrified whisper.

Haru unexpectedly erupted into laughter, louder and harder than the girl had ever heard before. It was all the brunette could do not to roll off the bed as Toby gave a few questioning 'woofs'.

" _Well. On a good note, she knows exactly what her kind can do,"_ the queen noted after a few minutes of listening to her giggle through holding her wounds from the pain.

"… Um, Mom? Mom?" Yuki tried to ask after her mother was finally able to calm down from her mirth.

" _Oh… man_! I'll have to remember that joke for Arthur! He and Mera will be in stitches the rest of their lives!" she giggled between sounds of pain, finally forcing herself to be still. "Sure hope I didn't rip up my own stitches, or Timothy will have **my** hide."

Yuki took the time to fix the covers. "But you said they had to be watched and strapped down. Why did you laugh that hard?"

Haru's next cleansing breath sounded full of remorse. "Because they're _cowards_ , Sweetness. Remember everything I said about how I was when Dad found me?"

Yuki nodded.

"Compared to the rest of my… _genetic relations_ , I was as unexpected as the Rabbit of Monty Python, even before Dad brainwashed me into a fully sentient being. The rest of them were sure as easy to scare as normal rabbits."

" _May I ask who Monty Python is?"_ Baron asked, but Yuki was a little too stunned to answer anyone for a while.

"… But… doormat. Pushover. Spineless?" she tried to remind her mother, who only nodded in confirmation.

"I repeat; I had _nothing_ on them, Sweetie. Do you remember the time a raccoon got into the chicken coop?"

"And you ordered me to the other side of the house while you ran to help the chickens with an axe," Yuki finished in a heartbeat.

Haru flinched, but nodded. "… That's more or less how different I am from the others, Sweetie. They cower, run, and shriek for someone to come save them from whatever is currently slaughtering or enslaving them, and I'm the one that rushes head on if…" she blushed weakly. "Well. Like I have to tell _you_ about how I react in those situations. Even before I could fight or thought I could help, something in me wouldn't allow for escape."

Yuki nodded, cuddling against the woman and rubbing her face into one shoulder to savor that ocean scent. "I wish you'd stop treating it like being a hero's something to be ashamed of."

"Maybe it's a little hard to think you're a hero when you're washing the blood off your hands," Haru muttered, snuggling her child close. "My… _relations_ are kept under watch and lock because they refuse to protect themselves, but they love freedom more than anything. Even tattling on someone for abducting a loved one is bold enough for all the kin to ostracize the brave one. When trouble happens, the only hide any of them care about is their own. The ones holding them for their own good have been trying to beat it into their heads for centuries that if they want to be free, they have to be willing to defend themselves, but it's all in one ear and out the other."

Yuki was having trouble seeing her mother as related to anyone so selfish, but knew from her gift that her mother wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. "But if they've all been under watch and lock for centuries, how did _you_ get out?"

Her mother didn't answer, but her grip tightened until Yuki had a bit of trouble breathing. She waited patiently for a reply, but none could be heard.

"Mom? How did you escape?"

Still no answer.

"Mom? You didn't fall asleep, did you?" she asked suspiciously, turning her head up to check.

There was that self-loathing again. It had been happening less frequently and with less intensity since the first time she'd seen that look, but now it had returned with a vengeance. Using her tried and true technique, she wiggled high enough to give a swift lick to one of her mother's cheeks.

Haru broke out of her trance, shaking her head slightly as her lungs took in a few deep breaths. "Hey, Sweetie. Did you need something?"

Yuki stared in horror. "Holy peanut butter, it must have been bad. You didn't call me a goofball for doing that again."

"Uh… yeah. My goofball. What must have been bad?" Haru was still struggling to fight off her black mood.

' _Maybe I should ask later,'_ Yuki thought desperately to the eavesdroppers.

" _Yes, perhaps that's enough for now,"_ Baron agreed, sounding worried. _"She gave us at least a_ _ **few**_ _answers to work with. Your majesty?"_

" _I agree. She's already had a long day, and we do have at least six months before Drac resumes filming. Provided, of course, he doesn't take out a restraining order against your mum."_

' _Don't get my hopes up,'_ Yuki answered miserably, startled when her mother suddenly gave a sharp whistle.

"Here, Toby! Here, boy!"

The basset hound gave a happy bark, leaving his water bowl as he hopped back onto the bed and came close for a good ear scratch.

But instead of that, Haru reached for the bedside table and grabbed the leash Yuki had thrown there after the long walk. She held it in front of the dog, carefully studying his reaction.

Toby gave a woof of happiness, licking her hand and resting a paw on her chest so that she could clip it onto his collar.

"You have no fear of this whatsoever, do you, boy?" Haru asked him in her sweet, warm voice.

His little tail was wagging happily at the thought of another walk, but after she didn't clip the leash on, he gave a disappointed whimper and made himself comfortable at her side.

Yuki had no idea why her mother was asking such an odd question. "Why would Toby fear the leash? We only use it when we're out around people."

"Why do we use the leash around people, Yuki?" Haru asked, sounding interested around her depression.

Her daughter was having trouble understanding why her mom wanted to know something so obvious. "So that he won't get lost and someone else doesn't steal him, of course. He's a good boy, any dog lover would adore him."

"Then what keeps him around when we don't use the leash?" She seemed to be asking herself this while giving him the wanted ear rubs. "We let him run free as a bird in the Refuge, yet he never strays far."

Toby himself answered that by licking her hand again; more than happy to stay exactly where he was.

 _'What is wrong with Mom?'_ "Because he loves us, Mom. And we love him. Isn't that reason enough?"

Toby rolled over for a belly rub, whining hopefully as he wiggled for attention.

Haru left his ears alone and started rubbing, using her free hand to set aside the leash once more. "All of my kind have a leash," she admitted miserably.

Yuki's senses tingled at the word 'leash'. Metaphor.

"All of them but me. I'm the only one that can go wherever I please, whenever I please. Free as a bird. No special obligations, just consequences to my actions. I'm the only one of my kind that's ever earned a lick of respect, let alone had whole countries bow even when I beg them not to. All in exchange for never knowing a true leash." Haru said all this in a sad monotone, her eyes far and distant as she kept rubbing Toby's tummy.

It was as if her soul was no longer in the room.

Yuki bit her lip, making a random guess for just a touch more information. "So were you born without this leash?"

"No. All of my kind have the leash at birth, even if something happens to the parent."

"So Vicky had it, too?"

The suddenly very tired-looking woman slowly looked at her child, the mother's expression as if she were already dead. After a long minute of thought, she tugged a little harder, encouraging Yuki to wiggle upward again. As soon as her head was resting on her mother's shoulder, she could feel her mother tilt her head close to her ear, close enough to feel soft lips brush against her hair before whispering, "The old man wasn't my birth father. _He_ wasn't my mother's husband."

Yuki ripped herself out of her mother's arm with a gasp of horror, covering her mouth with both hands. " _ **No**_!"

"That goes no further than us, young lady. Am I understood?" she asked sternly.

The girl kept staring at her mother, not wanting to believe it despite the truth ringing like a bell in her mind.

"Now you know why he tried so hard to drive me to suicide so he would be 'blameless' if the police ever bothered to investigate my death. Why he was so happy to be rid of me the night I ran, despite never being able to keep a housekeeper after I was gone. Can't have reminders of anything that makes him feel like he's less than right all the time, now can he?" she asked, trying not to sound bitter about the injustice.

"Did… did he…?" Yuki couldn't even bare to ask.

"Yes. The old man's why I don't have a leash. He decided it was more convenient for him if mine…" She gave a deep sigh. "Sweetie? Life isn't about what's fair, okay? It's about getting up and dusting yourself off when something knocks you off your feet. Bad things happen to everyone whether they deserve it or not. Baron will back me up on this."

If she weren't still horrified by the implications of what had happened to her mother and grandma, Yuki might have wondered why her uncle wasn't speaking, either. Or the queen.

"But quite frankly, sometimes bad things happen for a good reason. Like, if that creep had half a shred of decency in him, I would have been even more of the black sheep in my genetic family. Thanks to the ones that used to hunt my kind, I'd be dead by now for not running or trying to cover someone else's escape. No one would have been willing to train me for combat even if I had ever gotten the nerve to ask. If I had stayed with the old man and Vicky, it's extremely likely I would have been either tossed to the streets after turning eighteen or been an accomplice for Vicky's crimes if I didn't run in front of a car first. If I hadn't run off with Louis instead of by myself, I never would have met Dad, or you. I never would have known how strong I can be if I just keep pushing myself. All the lives I've saved through my monster-slaying would have been lost since other help couldn't come fast enough. You don't want to know what would have happened if Arthur didn't get that blood transfusion. _I_ don't want to know who would have found you that Christmas morning if I had gotten the quiet loving life I've always wanted. Even if we would have met anyway, I wouldn't have been strong enough to take care of you all these years by myself, physically or mentally since hard work's about the only thing I've never been afraid of. Come here, Sweetness. I need a hug."

Yuki was lying down by her mother in half a second, wrapping her arms around her mom and squeezing as hard as she could. "I-I'm so sorry, Mom," she wept into the front of her mother's shirt. "I swear I didn't know."

Haru gave an especially loving kiss to her daughter's thick white hair. "I've said it more times than I can count, but I never get tired of repeating this. You are worth _everything_ it took to meet you. Getting to be your mother is a privilege I will **never** take for granted. I love you so much, my little snowflake. For you, it was all worth it."

ooOoo

Sonya closed the connection to Haru's room, fighting back her own tears. "Those details stay between us, agreed?"

" _Agreed. I thought I couldn't feel worse than she already made me feel,"_ Baron admitted shamefully. _"I can't believe I had the gall to_ _ **judge**_ _her!"_

The queen slowly sank onto the nearest couch. "We all did, unfortunately. But this does explain why you never smelled a drop of human blood in her. But if a mere human can strip her birthright at his convenience, that should help narrow down the possibilities of what she could be."

" _Does that even matter at this point? You care if what she is will become a problem for the kingdom, and it's apparent that the most dangerous thing about her are her choices."_

Sonya pursed her lips in thought. "… She does try her best not to let them be for her own behalf. I will speak to Phoebus, but I fear he will still want to know what she is. We both know how he gets when he wants something." A fond smile crossed her lips at the quirk. "But I personally feel that her legacy's no longer a matter of urgency."

" _Is there anything I can do to help?"_

She tapped her fingers together, coming to an important conclusion. "… It seems to me that while she can make herself a nuisance when she so wishes it, Lady Haru will prove herself a loyal friend if she is shown the same treatment."

" _And sometimes when she isn't,"_ he responded miserably.

The queen could only smile in sympathy. "It may be best to wait to tell her the whole truth until after we encourage her attachments for a few months. From what I have overheard, she will understand why we kept certain things from her until we have an assurance of matters. That way she knows we will not abuse knowledge of her heritage."

" _Oh, thank you,"_ he responded with relief. _"I was_ _ **this**_ _close to telling her I'm not wearing a costume before she yawned. Drac never outright forbade me from telling the truth after making it clear that my chances with Yuki were better if her mum thought I was a method actor."_

"Well, you're forbidden now." She smiled, remembering another little detail that needed addressing.

But it didn't require the baron's assistance.

ooOoo

Yuki eventually looked up through her tears with a fierce expression. "What did you do for revenge?" Forget that her uncle and queen weren't watching anymore; she _needed_ to hear this!

"To which people, Sweetie?" her mother asked, not bothering to hide that she had done such a thing.

"The old man. What did you do to him when you found out the whole truth? About what he did to you and Grandma?" Yuki pressed with a barely controlled snarl.

Haru gave a light laugh as her eyes turned distant. "I knew _exactly_ what he did when I got my memory back. It's what helped inspire me to talk to Dad about learning to use a gun instead of depending on someone to protect me. Every time I started thinking 'I can't do this, it's too hard', I'd remember what he did to us. There were no bodyguards, no police. If no one came to my rescue, what would happen to me? Selfish as it is, I learned to fight so that no one would be able to do anything like that to me again." She managed another laugh, though it seemed directed at herself. "It figures that I wind up using those skills more for other people than myself. I'm the knight in shining armor that I used to wish would come rescue me from the old man. So much for goals, right?"

"So you let him get away with it?" Yuki asked with disgust.

"I was going to. I wanted him to see the success he always said I couldn't even dream of being. I wanted him to see me gain all the money, praise, and respect he had always decided was Vicky's just due. I wanted him to enjoy all the reporters that would come to him and offer money in exchange for talking about me. Even when his cancer started catching up with him and he could have used the money, he'd always chase them away with whatever he could get his hands on and deny that he had any connection to me. Dad told me that having a happy successful life would be the best revenge against that monster."

Yuki wasn't sated. "You said 'going to', Mom. What changed your mind?"

Her mother almost seemed to wilt like a flower. "… Meeting my genetic relations. Let's just say when you turn twelve, you'll understand my list of very understandable reasons for never talking about them, as well as why Arthur and Mera decided that I'm their little sister. Because my birth family isn't exactly held in high regard, Arthur wound up taking me to my roots, partially so that people would stop scoffing at him and Mera when they tried to tell them about me and partially as a call to action for my relations after I killed the ones that had been hunting them for centuries. Anything I can do, they would be able to do if they were just willing to apply themselves. When I was done screaming at them for not being willing, the first thing I did was track down the old man. By then Vicky had been caught and was going through her hearings, and the old man was wasting away in a hospital. Vicky tried to spin her deeds as good since she was using a good portion of her dead husbands' money to try to cure the old man, but no one really went for it except a few ignorant prats."

Haru's next smile was as grim as a reaper's. "It was two months before he died. He couldn't move, and even if he could talk, the air tube down his throat wouldn't let him. He was drowning in debt even with Vicky's help. He was so sick and miserable with not being able to boss or bully people around, that he was actually happy to see me."

Yuki's eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"He recognized me through the disguise, and thought I was finally there to kill him," Haru quickly explained. "I could see it in his eyes that he wanted me to do it whether I got caught or not. It wasn't until after I was leaving the hospital that I realized just how much better of a revenge it was to let him know that despite everything he did to make sure that I amounted to worse than nothing, he's the reason I have my best chance at finding happiness. His doctors told me after the fact that those two months were definitely the worst they had seen him, even without the cancer."

Her daughter stared at her. "So… you forgave him?"

Haru nodded. "I also paid for all his medical bills, and his burial when the end came. I made sure he knew Vicky would get flowers on our birthday and Christmas, even if she just tears it to pieces while screaming profanities at me the times that a guard at the prison doesn't keep it for themselves. But that's not my concern; I'm keeping my word. Heh, that's my other revenge. Not being too exhausted or busy to break _that_ promise."

Yuki was a little surprised that her mother went as far as a visitation, considering some of the things she had heard of Vicky. "Why did you bring them yourself before adopting me?"

Her mother scoffed dismissively. "I did no such thing. She bullied and screamed at me too much growing up. I doubt she has anything new to say, so it's an automatic delivery from the closest florist. I'm paid up until we reach a hundred years old."

"Will she live longer than that?" Yuki couldn't help asking, even if she had to keep herself from asking 'will _you_ live longer than that?'

"Even if she does, she'll more than likely be too senile to remember me. But with how little she has to look forward to, I'll be shocked if she hits eighty."

A strange sigh followed her words. It sounded… _longing_ , as if she could only dream of dying that soon. Or was it the lost chance to be close to her half-twin? The only blood relation that had been named in their five years together.

"What was Grandma's name?" Yuki asked randomly.

"… Naoko," Haru whispered, her mind clearly a million miles away. "Yoshioka Hasho is her husband. You will never hear me call him 'father'."

Yuki bit her lip before snuggling deeper into her mother's embrace. "So, this leash… no replacements?"

Her mother turned on her side, making Toby wiggle around the bed until he was nearly crushed between them again with a happy whimper.

"I would have to steal one from one of those spineless pansies. As I'm sure you can tell, I refuse to consider that an option."

Yuki couldn't fight the smile of pride as she snuck a kiss to her mother's cheek. "And you dare to wonder why I worship you."

ooOoo

Still feeling a bit nervous about being around humans, Julia was careful to cover up her emotions as she opened the needed door.

Only a handful of musicians were within, all of them looking over at her in surprise.

The tall disguised feline closed the door after herself before taking in a breath. "Which of you is Steven?"

An elderly human stepped closer, though he looked a bit nervous himself. "That would be me. What do you need?"

"Lady Haru was wondering if she could book you for an appointment next Monday at noon," she dutifully recited.

His dark eyes lit up as he threw his fist in the air. "YES! She's going to do it, everybody!"

The other musicians made a similar happy ruckus, some rushing for the door to inform the other musicians.

Julia wisely stepped away from the door to avoid the stampede, looking at the conductor with surprise. "How did you know she's been writing music?"

Steven rolled his eyes with a warm smile. "Oh, she always produces a cd and donates the proceeds to charity after slaying something. I guess it helps with the guilt since she hates making a kill. But since she can't possibly do all the instrument work herself this time, at least for a few months if your doctor friend has anything to say about it, we were hoping that she was going to ask for help this time. It'll sure beat hanging around the castle doing nothing for months."

Julia couldn't be shocked at this. Not with how Haru had fought so hard to avoid fights before Drac forced her hand.

But still…

"Why didn't anyone try harder to tell my lord about her abilities?" she asked with a stern look, but was only given a rueful laugh for a reply.

"Oh, **believe** me, we tried. If the director hadn't put a block on the internet service so that we can't look up anything that so much as has Lady Haru's name somewhere in the comments, we would have for sure at least shown him her battle with the T-Rex."

Julia blinked in surprise. She had never heard the tyrannosaurus addressed as such, but… "A robot of some sort?"

"Nope. Cloned."

Julia's mouth fell open in horror.

Steven held his hands up in a calming gesture. "Don't worry; Lady Haru's done everything in her power to shut that amusement park down and keep the remaining dinosaurs in quarantine. It would have made millions, but it really was too dangerous to work. Unless they cloned Lady Haru into an army."

Julia shivered at the thought. "I don't think this world can handle more than one of Lady Haru."

"It sure would be a safer place to live, though," Steven mused wistfully before giving a heavy sigh. "Is there anyone else she wishes to contact for the meeting next Monday?"

"She said you would be willing to help me with George Mason."

The conductor beamed happily. "I thought so. You can't make a cd without a sound engineer. Come, I'll introduce you. Oh, I hope we can talk her into at least one music video before the director heals!" he gushed while leading the maid out of the music room. "Music videos sometimes make more money than the movie they're intended for!"


	26. Still Good

**Chapter Twenty Six: Still Good**

 _This is my family. I found it all on my own. Is little and broken, but still good. …Yeah, still good._

 _-Stitch, 'Lilo and Stitch'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Haru looked at the man lying unconscious on the hospital bed next to hers as her essence started dripping into him. "How long before we find out if this is doing any good?"_

 _The tall green Martian briefly held up the thin tube with her blood, staring deeply at it for a long minute. "It will work in a very short amount of time. Your life fluid is compatible with anyone and anything you come in contact with, and more. But it would be advisable not to let human scientists find out. They have a bad habit of locking away and testing anything new or unusual."_

 _His regretful tone said louder than words that he had found this out for himself._

" _Right, no blood drives for me." Looking at the handful of heroes in the room, Haru took in a steady breath before speaking again. "Would… um, I'd be willing to donate again if any of you need it. This can't be the first time one of you has needed blood after a tough fight."_

" _You should be more careful about what you're offering," the Amazon on her left scolded almost maternally while holding one of the girl's hands in comfort. "Your kind are close to extinction because of what your blood can do. Arthur has said he does what he can to catch the poachers, but-"_

 _Haru shrieked with pain as the needle was ripped out of her arm, tearing her vein open a little as the man on the other end of the tube heaved out of the hospital bed he'd been resting in after only a little blood had entered his system._

 _The man stumbled to his feet as if on steroids, looking around the room wildly before his eyes became glued to Haru, who was quickly using some Kleenex from her pocket to stop the bleeding. She looked back at him, wondering if it was proper to say anything to him. What if he wasn't as kind as Queen Cassandra?_

"… _A_ _ **Yoshioka**_ _?! You captured a_ _ **Yoshioka**_ _for her blood?! I thought this was the Justice League!" he roared at the top of his lungs, throwing off Martian Manhunter when he tried to calm the monarch's mind._

 _Wonder Woman wasted no time jumping over the bed the young donor was in, presumably to keep Haru from getting hurt. "Look, Superman and the others are holding off the invasion-"_

" _Forget about the invasion!" he snapped, chucking his bed at the heroine._

 _Haru swiftly rolled off and under her bed as the Amazon made splinters fly with one punch. 'There has to be something I can do! But he's so much stronger than me, will he listen?'_

" _Arthur, calm down!" Manhunter tried again but was knocked across the room as Batman tried his luck._

 _He was good, but no match for the enraged king._

" _ **I will not calm down!**_ _She is_ **my** _subject, and I will not stand for one of_ **my** _subjects to be kidnapped and used at your will and pleasure! Do you have_ _ **any**_ _idea how many of her kind I've lost, just in the past year?! They're going to be gone by next year thanks to those despicable-"_

 _Although she didn't like the option, Haru slipped out from under the bed and ran past Wonder Woman in a heartbeat to the Sea King, slapping him as hard as she could across the face. Pain exploded up her arm, but she did her best not to betray more than a hiss of pain. 'Ouch, not the best idea!'_

 _It was enough to get the man's attention, making him pause before tossing Batman through a glass window. For a terribly long second after all the noise, there was complete silence, since even the League members were shocked at her boldness._

 _She pressed her Kleenex back on the wound before addressing him. "First of all, your majesty, thank you for being concerned about my welfare," Haru stated as calmly as she could, even though she was shaking on the inside. But hey, she didn't collect gold trophies on lying for nothing. She kept her gaze squarely on his with a polite smile, no matter how dead she might be for daring to strike her hereditary monarch._

" _But second of all, if you're going to throw a tantrum on my behalf, can you at least make sure that I_ _ **am**_ _being forced beforehand? Because all your friends did was bring me here and tell me you needed help. You can't really call it a kidnapping if I was willing when things were explained on the way."_

 _The Atlantean stared at her with an open mouth, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing_ _ **or**_ _seeing. The Dark Knight was still being held over the shocked monarch's head like a beer barrel._

" _Please put Batman down. I'm a bit of a fan girl." Although her cheeks were turning red again, she gestured at the bat emblem on her black t-shirt that had inspired a few laughs when she had shed her coat for the needle. She continued to speak, low and gentle as if she were back in her hometown, trying to convince a toddler to let go of the kitchen knife. "But even if I wasn't, there's really no point to hurting him. He knew I'd be honored to help you out, which is why he had Superman go pick me up. Please. No wrong's been done before you woke up."_

 _The dark knight in question was playing it safe, not moving a muscle until he was slowly and carefully placed back on the ground. Not that the Sea King was looking at him. If anything, his incredulous look towards the young woman had only increased._

 _She immediately gave her king a warm smile of gratitude. "Thanks. Sorry for slapping you. Would anyone know where an ice-pack is? Aquaman's got a chin like a brick wall," Haru confessed, holding up her wrist gingerly, since it was the same arm she had been giving blood with._

"… _Yes. I'll go get one," Wonder Woman said, looking heavily impressed as she opened up a small freezer behind the unbroken bed._

" _No need for_ _ **that**_ _look," Haru muttered under her breath. "You're the ones that are taking on an alien race, after all. Hey, would you like help with that, too? I'm willing."_

" _The way you fight is too distinctive," Batman informed her firmly from behind before she knew he was on that side of the room. "Even if we found you a costume, you would be too easy to identify, and we have a 'no killing' policy."_

 _Haru gave an agreeing sound while shrugging and turning a little to face her idol. "Fair enough. But the blood offer still stands, should we take care of that now while the hole in my arm is still fresh? I'd hate for Superman to drop me off only to come get me again in a few hours when we can just-"_

 _Extremely well-muscled arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind, pulling her against a firm chest that was still crisscrossed with bandages. Haru instinctively stiffened at the unasked-for contact but kept her peace to see what he had in mind._

 _Superman had made a point of mentioning that the king had a loving family waiting for him to come home._

" _It happened," her king whispered, now perfectly calm and almost too shocked to be happy as he hugged her with real affection. "One of you was_ _ **finally**_ _born with a backbone!"_

 _Haru gave a desperate, pleading look to Wonder Woman as she approached with an ice pack. "Please tell me that it's not bad enough to warrant this reaction."_

 _She gave her a grave look while strapping the ice pack to the throbbing wrist. "Unfortunately, dear... it really is that bad."_

 _Haru felt herself wilt like a flower against the king's arms. "I was afraid of that."_

xxXxx

Yuki was in heaven. After far too long in her opinion, both her birth and adopted family were together, doing nothing more than enjoying each others' company around the table in her mother's room. The table in question had been brought in by Renaldo and Herald, with Timothy's permission.

Haru finished her cup with a happy sigh, finally allowed to sit at a table instead of her bed. "It's blends like this that spoiled me too much for tea bags."

Baron grinned before refilling her teacup with his personal blend. "Your father, perhaps?"

She shook her head with a grin. "You'll laugh, but he was a co-star, too," Haru confided, inhaling the scent happily. "Both he and his older brother were playing Baron for that movie."

"Twins?" Hilary guessed while enjoying a sip from her own cup.

Haru laughed while shaking her head. "No. They were playing a character that looked twelve but was twenty four when he met my character. He turned into an adult at the end, so the older brother was constantly teasing the younger one about getting more scenes with me. That little boy got married two years ago and has a baby on the way now. It's amazing how quickly they grow," she admitted sadly.

' _Especially when compared to yourself.'_ Baron swiftly thought of something to say. "This is something I inherited from my father, although he was more interested in creating new explosive compounds. He could argue for days on how much copper it would take to make just the right shade of green. Mother told him more than once that he should have been in the firework business."

There, that made her cheer up with a soft giggle. "So was he half-deaf from the explosions?"

He couldn't resist a fond smile at the memories. "Only on certain days. I learned early to always keep a pad and charcoal on me in case I needed to tell him something in a hurry."

"Should have learned sign language," Yuki commented while taking a sip of her own.

That made Baron start in surprise. "Sign?"

Haru blinked but set her cup aside to gesture with her hands as she talked. "Sign language is for people who can't speak or can't hear. It was the first language I taught my daughter."

Yuki grinned before also speaking with her hands. "It's also good for people who aren't ready to speak quite yet. It really opened the door to learning other languages."

Hilary looked between the two with confusion. "Wouldn't it be simpler to cure the deaf and dumb than invent a language?"

The brunette set her hands down with a depressed look. "That's not always an option, unfortunately. As far as the human world is concerned, medical science can only do so much."

The three felines immediately gave each other a horrified look.

She knew!

Haru managed an embarrassed blush before laughing at their expressions. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to ask. Would you like me to continue playing along with Baron being a cat from another dimension? It really wouldn't be that hard on me since he's pretty convincing."

The tawny feline in question made himself snap to attention before giving a nervous smile. "… I think it would cut down confusion, yes, if you would be so kind."

"Sure, I'll be that kind. To be honest, Hiromi, meeting _you_ kind of threw me for a loop," Haru admitted, smiling a little guiltily at a relieved yet confused Hilary. "It's silly, but thanks to Baron, I was kind of expecting you and your companions to be cats, too."

Her head cocked to the side in surprise before a large mischievous smile slid over her human face. "Oh? I could fix that in a heartbeat."

"Hilary!" Baron snapped with a panicked look as Yuki tried not to spit out her mouthful of tea.

The young girl had to settle for covering her mouth with a fistful of napkins.

But thankfully her mother was keeping her gaze on the tawny woman. "Yeah, I appreciate the thought, Hiromi, but I've been in the business long enough to know what a high-quality cat costume would cost."

"Oh, I doubt one for me would be as dear as all that," Hilary quipped with a smirk.

"Um, Aunt Hilary? That's enough joking," Yuki tried to pass on while shaking her head in a way that wouldn't attract her mother's attention.

"I'm not joking. Haru, would it make you feel better if I was as convincing a cat as my brother?" she pressed, smiling almost desperately for an answer.

Haru traced the fish cookie on her little plate with one finger for a long second before sending Baron an apologetic look. "Well… yes. It would really cheer me up, but that's no reason to go that far-"

"Too late!" Hilary squealed excitedly, ignoring the scathing look from her brother. "Don't be too surprised if you start seeing _plenty_ more cats in this castle!"

Baron groaned before giving Haru a reproachful look. He no longer had it in him to get angry at her.

Haru could only smile guiltily in return. "I know your sister doesn't need encouragement. But Yuki's still trying to break me from my lying habit."

The girl in question immediately felt a stab of hypocritical guilt.

ooOoo

Baron finished locking the door to the small spare room before turning to Yuki with an easier smile than she was used to seeing. "Today's exercise is a very special spell. I think you will enjoy it immensely."

Yuki beamed up at him. "All right. What does it do?"

"It allows you to open your memories, though not quite relive them. I will demonstrate." Closing his eyes, the tawny feline began whispering under his breath, one finger twirling about as if turning back a clock.

A grey light flooded out of him and coated every surface of the room. The child watched in fascination as pastel colors began emerging and turning into moving shapes until they were in a _beautiful_ green meadow that echoed the ones Haru had painted on her walls.

Yuki squealed in happiness when she saw that there were _huge_ rabbits not that far from her. She tried to run for them, but her uncle gripped her hand in warning.

"That's still a wall, my sweet. Just watch."

 _"Louise?"_ a matching voice called out, making Yuki turn enough to see a double vision of her uncle.

The Past Baron was walking towards the rabbits, slightly more pastel than the current one as he made the rabbits come closer. It didn't take much to see that he was younger, and his bearing more loose and relaxed than until he made peace with Haru. And instead of the dark grey suit, he instead was sporting a light grey one.

Yuki could feel her heart stop as a sweet but firm voice answered him.

 _"I hope you don't need me for a function, Humbert. This doe is having a bit of difficulty with her birthing."_

Past Baron drew close enough for Yuki to get a glimpse of her birth mother around some of the standing rabbits.

She was not dressed as a duchess, in a simple tan dress covered in blood as she knelt by a heaving rabbit. Four tiny kits were nestled together on a blanket by her side as she gently rubbed the mother's back and belly.

Both versions of Baron began retching dryly, but all Yuki could see was the experienced strength in her birth mother's hands as she encouraged the giant rabbit.

Although her adoptive mother had struggled to keep her distant from gory images, Yuki had seen enough to understand that the doe was in good hands.

 _"T-Tea time!"_ Past Baron managed to gag.

 _"I'll be along when I'm done. Genevieve isn't likely to wait until later. Oh, stop acting like a kitten!"_ she scolded before reaching down to help ease another baby bunny from the womb. _"I've seen your silkworm cabins, and that's much more disgusting!"_

"At least they don't need help with birthing," both Barons muttered under their breaths as Past Baron backed up enough to put himself out of line of sight.

The phrase seemed to be an old one, even for the Past Baron.

Yuki hurried to her uncle's other side for another glimpse, desperate not to waste this chance.

 _"At least I don't have to kill my rabbits to harvest fiber!"_ she shot back, as if she had said the words a thousand times before.

Unfortunately, Past Baron was backing away slowly while taking a look down at his crisp clean suit as if he dreaded getting rabbit blood on it. "I shall keep the teapot warm for you, then. Today's blend turned out excellent."

 _"Can't wait. I don't suppose you could wait for me yourself?"_ she asked a bit hopefully.

 _"I'm afraid not. I have a meeting with the merchants in an hour."_

" _ **Idiot**_ ," Current Baron breathed under his breath as Past Louise took too long to wish him luck. "Half of them were late anyway. I could have rescheduled and they would have never questioned why."

Knowing that both of them needed it, Yuki yanked on her current uncle's arm until he picked her up and hugged her until long after the spell had faded.

"… Thank you," she eventually whispered, nuzzling his shoulder for comfort.

He nuzzled her beck with little hesitation, letting himself take the time he needed before speaking again. "I really should have shown you this spell before. Before I show you how to do it, would you like to see your father?"

Yuki nodded eagerly, making him repeat the spell with her paying more attention to the exact words falling from his mouth.

Her own mouth fell open at the size of the library that soon came into view. It wasn't as big as Beast's in her favorite movie of the fairy tale, but it was without a doubt enough to get her attention.

Current Baron looked around wistfully, as if this was one of the things he was missing the most about being chained to the Human World. "If not for Neal's magic, I would have wondered how he kept all this memorized and organized so well. I had to hire four librarians to take on his responsibilities when all was said and done."

"So he wasn't Mother's librarian?" Yuki asked in surprise, snapping out of her ecstasy. "How did he get close enough to see how she felt, then?"

Past Baron was looking around with a frown, which gave the current one some time to explain himself.

"Your maternal grandparents died when Louise and I were still in diapers. Although she had a fine duchy of her own, Mother insisted that she be raised with family. The engagement was to make the arrangement a bit more proper, though I hadn't minded it in the least. After my parents were gone, she never once spoke of wanting to move to her own holdings, and I never thought that she would want to. After all, she would only be moving back after the wedding, and neither of us had been fond of creating extra work for ourselves or others," he informed her with a sad sigh.

 _"Neal? I don't suppose you've found the tomes I've asked for,"_ Past Baron called out, again in a light grey suit as he called out, making his voice echo through the cavern-like room.

"Hasn't anyone told you libraries are supposed to be quiet?" Yuki asked as another voice asked a similar question at the same time.

 _"Hasn't anyone informed you that libraries are meant for quiet study?"_

She sharply turned enough to see a brown-striped tom emerge from an adjoining room with a tall stack of books.

Although this world's advanced medical magic was able to nix the need for glasses, any idiot would have had no trouble seeing Neal's profession, even after he set the books on the closest table.

As he looked up at his lord, he showcased a pair of tired but warm sky blue eyes. _"But as to your question, these are all but the last one, if you don't mind waiting a moment."_

Past Baron shook his head with a fond smile. _"Not at all. I noticed that you neglected to come to the last of the Harvest Festival yesterday. I hope it wasn't my request that kept you away."_

Current Baron tightened his grip on Yuki's hand as the library moved around them so that they could stay close to the Past Baron as he followed the librarian to another location.

Neal was facing away from his friend when he flinched. _"I appreciate your concern, Humbert, but I've never felt at ease with dancing."_

 _"Neither has Louise, but she still accompanies me,"_ Past Baron pointed out as they began ascending a staircase.

If this wasn't such a rare glimpse of her father, Yuki would have turned for a look at the library from the second floor banister on her right.

 _"She and yourself are nobility; you would have been missed in a heartbeat. Other than yourself, I doubt anyone noticed my absence,"_ Neil responded dismissively.

 _"Louise did,"_ Past Baron said in a heartbeat.

"She was the one that brought it up," Current Baron added under his breath, clearly still kicking himself for never growing suspicious.

But the Past Baron was clearly as stubborn as the current one. _"My friend, you're a good tom. I know you consider yourself married to your work-"_

Current Baron's grip tightened again, but Yuki was too distracted to say anything.

 _"-but it would be a crying shame if you never leave the library and find some nice lady that enjoys poetry and human tales as much as you do."_

Neal's grip on the railing turned a bit fierce before he released it to climb a revolving ladder. _"… I… have no interest in that for the present."_

Yuki whimpered as her head pounded like a drum from the gigantic lie, making her uncle pick her up for a comforting hug.

 _"Then when will you? As shallow as it sounds, fair maidens are far more interested in strapping young toms than middle-aged ones. I'm not asking you to do a double ceremony with myself and Louise-"_

Both Yuki and Current Baron tightened their grip on each other as the child began breathing heavily into his shoulder.

 _"-but can't you at least leave the library once in a while and ensure to any young ladies that could be interested that you are not some ghost or myth? The handful of maidens I spoke to yesterday had no idea you existed, and I think at least one of them had a personality that would compliment yours beautifully."_

Neal handed down a thick book after blowing the dust off it. _"Here is the last tome you asked for, my lord. If you do not require anything else, there is much left to do before supper."_ His tone had turned more formal, as if addressing someone he rarely saw. He started climbing down the ladder, now looking away from Past Baron before marching off.

Past Baron was dumbfounded at the coldness. _"I thought I informed you that tone of address was forbidden. We were children together, after all."_

The librarian actually _glared_ at what was clearly his old friend. _"Then, if it pleases you, allow **me** to fuss over my future. Yours is fast approaching, and I wouldn't want anything to distract you from your good fortune."_

It was then that the spell faded, leaving Yuki and Baron alone in their embrace.

Baron took a long moment before speaking, clinging to the girl that had been so close to being his. "… At the time, I thought that he was angry that I had a lady and he didn't. I didn't realize until far too late that he was scolding me for neglecting your mother."

Yuki didn't answer him outside of squeezing his neck and nuzzling him. He held onto her just as tightly, perfectly content to stay silent for now.

"… Well. Do you think you're ready to try it out, my sweet?" Baron asked after a good long moment of comfortable silence.

His niece nodded as she was set down. "I think I know the memory I want."

He beamed at her before carefully coaching her on the right words and gestures. Keeping her mind focused, the room flooded white instead of grey.

Even when things came into focus, the scenery was mostly white.

"Yikes, I looked worse than I thought," Current Yuki commented, feeling an ache as she watched a shorter, thinner, and shabbier version of herself trudge in the snow down a deserted street. Even if one forgot about her old hand-me-downs, she was far too scrawny and filthy to be of interest to anyone that wasn't her mother.

"What in codfish are- _were_ you doing out here on your own?" Baron demanded in shock, once again taking her hand in his.

"This is the day I met Mom. No foster home wanted me for Christmas-"

"Christmas?" he asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Family holiday about a week before New Year's," Current Yuki quickly explained before continuing. "Since they couldn't think of anything better, Takeshi-san made my caseworker take me. He locked me in the laundry room and forgot to feed me more than dry crackers since he was busy trying to talk his girlfriend into marrying him with a fancy dinner."

His green eyes narrowed into slits as he growled savagely. "So that's what your mum meant by he offended her. What was his comeuppance?"

Yuki's next smirk was decidedly more wicked. "He lost his job when the police figured out that he had forgotten he ever had me. I, for one, hope that whatever girl he was trying to impress kicked him to the curb. Plus Uncle Bruce did a vicious 'cleaning house' after Mom told him what was going on. But back to what I'm doing out here, I accidentally used my magic to unlock the door so I could use the bathroom very early Christmas morning. Since the foster agency had me bouncing between lousy homes since before I could remember, I decided to go find a real one myself. Ah, the park," Current Yuki sighed happily as her younger self quickly ran into the trees to keep any future drivers from seeing her.

"How on earth did you expect to find a home on your own? It would have made more sense to at least wait until the warmer months," Baron scolded as her past self caught her mother's ocean scent with a look of surprise.

"That's what I was telling myself. I know how lucky I got that Mom had a lousy time sleeping that night, too." She leaned forward eagerly for the moment that had forever changed her life as her past self traced the unseen path her mother had made.

There the non-human was, looking every bit the stone statue on the park bench. Breaking his own rule, Baron drew close enough to inspect her face with a grave expression.

It didn't take long for Current Yuki to conclude that the self-loathing was worse than when she had unintentionally reminded her mom about how little her birth family cared about her. "Take a good long look, Uncle Humbert. That's what Mom feels like when I'm not in the picture."

Baron gave a tired sigh. "I'm not trying to separate the two of you anymore, Yuki."

"Just making sure it stays that way. Oh, here it comes!" she answered with glee as her past self hesitantly placed one hand on Haru's knee after a long moment of staring at the older girl in confusion.

The strange young woman sat up as if she had been electrocuted, a gasp escaping her throat before her gaze turned to the filthy orphan at her side. Her large brown eyes became larger with shock, even a bit of wonder as she stared at nothing else.

 _"… You are the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen,"_ she whispered with enough sincerity to cure both Yukis of their remaining headaches.

The current one felt tears run down her face as Past Haru blushed with embarrassment at the admission. "Even like that?"

"Yuki?" her uncle asked worriedly.

The girl could only stare as her beloved mother kept the Past Yuki from leaving, even kneeling into the thick snow so that she could offer a hug to the complete stranger that had stolen her heart. The hope in her eyes now seemed a shade desperate; starving for some true affection.

"… I couldn't speak English back then. I didn't know that was what she said to me." _'Though she did say that making her not want to lie anymore was the first thing she loved about me.'_

He drew her close enough to hug her before placing a finger at her mind. "Does she speak another language soon?"

She nodded, fighting back a smile through her tears. "Go ahead and teach yourself Japanese, you cheater."

His finger turned strangely warm as he quickly absorbed the information, but he still didn't take his eyes off the two hugging in front of them. "I've never seen your mum smile like that."

Indeed, Haru's mood had changed to the other extreme, happily beaming through her tears as she pressed multiple kisses to Past Yuki's filthy hat.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Current Yuki sighed lovingly. "Nothing makes me happier than making her smile like that. She says Grandpa's the only worthy rival I've ever had."

" _You... you have_ _no_ _idea how long I've been waiting to meet you, Sweetheart,"_ Past Haru crooned through her tears of joy. She kissed Past Yuki's hat one more time before pulling her away just enough to look her in the eyes. _"Where is your mommy, Sweetheart?"_

Just as she remembered, Past Yuki wasted no time pointing her little finger directly at the brunette, hope shining brightly in her sapphire eyes.

Too brightly for Past Haru to ever ignore. She seemed terrified and determined all at the same time, but was clearly willing to do the right thing after a careful inspection of the tiny girl in hand-me-down rags.

Current Yuki could understand the significance of her stare, now that she knew her mom had grown up in identical circumstances, even if Yuki had never had worse from a keeper than a spanking or missed meal.

Her mother could have only **dreamed** of such good fortune growing up.

" _Let me try again. Is there... anyone besides me?"_ Past Haru enquired, but it seemed like she already knew the answer.

Past Yuki shook her head, pushing forward enough to soak in the woman's warm arms again.

" _... I see. Well, don't worry, Sweetheart,"_ the brunette told her as she got to her feet, keeping the tiny girl in her arms _. "You're going to be just fine, I promise. My name's Haru,"_ she introduced herself as she started marching down the snow-covered path.

Current Yuki could remember how hard it was to talk at first, even to the sweet angel that had given her a new lease on life. How gently her mother had tried to coax before allowing her to speak when she was ready, and not before.

Yuki wiped her tears of happiness away as the memory faded back into the spare room. "Just in case you were wondering why I've always been devoted to her… that sums it up."

Baron picked her up, sitting in the only chair so that he wouldn't need to put her down any time soon. "I am truly sorry, Yuki. I should have… done what Haru said. I should have investigated beyond the rumors and Drac's biased stories."

Yuki was able to manage a soft laugh between her tears. "I still can't believe that you thought Mom would have dated a creep like him. She didn't even really date Louis."

He looked down at her. "What do you mean? She's never bothered to deny running off with him."

The little girl shrugged sadly. "Mom says he didn't really bother to please her more than occasionally telling her he loved her. She says the most romantic thing they did together that she enjoyed was the motorcycle rides while they were traveling to Hollywood. He even made her sleep on the floor when they were able to afford a hotel room because he enjoyed the extra space in the bed, and Mom never complained because it was still better treatment than the old man could be bothered to give."

His expression was horrified.

"Mom was starved for attention back then. She didn't know anything better until meeting Grandpa. He taught her to hold out for better treatment, but she… I don't think she'd be much interested in dating, even without her 'condition'."

He could only nod, guilt filling his features. "I truly am an imbecile."

Although Yuki agreed that he had been out of line, it would have been pointless to keep punishing him when he was doing a fine job on his own.

Instead, she gave him a deep squeeze around the neck with a nuzzle to the chin. "But you've promised to do better. You'll have to do something much worse than underestimate Mom before she'll struggle to forgive you. She'll forgive people that don't even bother apologizing or even feel bad for hurting her."

"So you informed me. How am I going to make this up to her, Yuki?" he asked tiredly. "I've made it clear that I will fulfill any request she makes, and the most she's made is that I keep sharing my tea blends. As if I wasn't already planning on that!"

She rubbed his shoulder encouragingly. "Get creative. Do something random, make her laugh. Or just be her friend. That would mean the world to her."

He deflated, though there was a small smile of self-mockery. "So much for my views on women being difficult to please."

She gave him a teasing slap to the shoulder before thinking about the memory spell again. "… I wonder if that would work."

"Yuki?"

She didn't answer him, instead repeating the spell and gestures as she focused less on something she could remember, and more on an event she _knew_ took place in her presence.

After the whiteness retreated, only a handful of things had changed about the spare room. But the most important thing was soon clear as Baron swiftly got up and moved himself and his niece against the wall with mortification.

"… It's a girl!" a Past Human Neal announced in the early morning light, looking tired but ecstatic as he gently handled a small baby from between Past Human Louise' blanket-covered legs.

"A girl," her mother moaned tiredly, though her smile was just as pleased as her husband's.

"Now, how to do this… oh, right!" Past Neil remembered as he held his daughter up just right.

A light slap to the back, and Current Yuki could hear her first cry.

Both Yuki and Baron stayed silent as they watched her father carefully bathe her and wrap her up in one of the two baby blankets folded nearby before helping Louise with the afterbirth.

"Oh, look at her eyes!" Past Louise cooed, cradling her baby the same way Haru did once the messy bit was done. "Such a shame we'll need to hide them with your amulet."

Past Neil sighed wistfully. "I know. But at least we didn't need to go to the hospital. Humans would have asked questions about her eyes, at least. … Darling, are you still sure about her name?"

The white-haired human nodded ecstatically. "Of course. With how famous that movie is that came out this summer, there will be plenty of girls named 'Yuki' around to make ours blend in."

Current Yuki nearly felt her heart burst, breaking free of her uncle's grasp so that she could draw close to the bed.

There, on one edge of the simple blanket, was badly embroidered in Japanese kanji 'Yuki Marie Block'.

" _Mother_ was a fan of _Mom's_!" she breathed in surprise. _'And I thought someone from the foundation named me!'_

"I'm certain you mean 'how famous that actress is'," Past Neal corrected with a teasing smile as he rescued some boiling water from a small burner. "How many of those movies of hers have we watched since coming here?"

The white-haired woman gave a weak but guilty smile. "All the ones I can get my hands on. I can't help it, Neal! There's just something about looking at her that… _comforts_ me. I hope Humbert meets a girl like her, someday," she added wistfully, making her cousin jump in surprise. "Heaven knows he deserves someone that can be _half_ that loyal."

Her husband looked down, thinking long and hard before offering a thought. "… We could go back, Louise. Despite my hopes, I think Lady Haru's the most magical thing this world has to offer. But she lives clear on the other side of the planet."

Past Louise shuddered while holding her baby in a protective embrace. "No, I know, but… I couldn't face Humbert again. He… what could I possibly _say_ to him to make up for how we left? No one would trust us again if we tried to go back."

"I suppose they would all assume I was after your fortune despite being the breadwinner since we came here," Past Neal noted sadly, laying on his side in order to gently caress his newborn daughter's face as she squirmed inside the tightly wrapped blanket.

Past Louise laid her head against his shoulder, still staring at Past Yuki as if she were the world.

The exact same way Haru looked at… _their_ daughter.

"I just wish I had been brave enough to personally say goodbye and how sorry I am for being so cruel," her mother whispered wistfully as she cradled her sweet baby.

Current Yuki let the memory fade as she tried to rub the tears out of her eyes.

Her uncle handed her a spare handkerchief, since he was using one himself in a vain attempt to hide tears of his own. "You… you have no idea the gift you've given me, my sweet."

She could only nod before demanding a hug. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to go cuddle with Mom now."

Baron couldn't resist a fond smile through his tears. "I understand completely. But now that you've surpassed your elders once again with calling forth memories… No, perhaps another time."

Yuki blew her nose before addressing her uncle. "Hmm?"

"It can wait. You are emotionally drained, it would be inexcusable for me to ask more of you now."

Not in the mood for secrets, she placed one hand on her hip and tried to give an intimidating glare. "Just tell me, Uncle Humbert. What are you thinking of asking me?"

He flinched, not looking pleased with what he was about to bring up. "… If you can recall the moment of your birth… you may be able to recall your parents' murder."

The world seemed to turn completely silent, making him fidget nervously.

"My apologies, Yuki. I don't know what all your mum told you of it."

She looked down, clinging to his hand like an anchor. "I know everything she knows. She decided the day she adopted me that if I was old enough to ask, I was old enough to be told. …I-I can't. Not today."

"Which is why I'm not insisting on it, my sweet," he assured her while stealing a lick at her hair. "But who knows what other deaths their killers are responsible for? If I can see their faces, even once, I'll be able to pinpoint their location in mere seconds. I highly doubt they have an escape route to another dimension to throw me off."

"Are you going to kill them?" she asked point blank, making him flinch.

"… As much as I would love to at this point… it would be more proper to drag them in front of the king for judgement. Even Haru would agree to that."

Yuki nodded, tugging on the hand in her possession towards the door. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to relive that memory."

ooOoo

"Mommy?!" Yuki demanded, slipping past Herald and running for her mother's side.

Haru looked up, swiftly putting down Hilary's cowl before her daughter could accidentally impale herself on knitting needles. Yuki wasted no time hopping onto the bed next to her mother and losing herself in the woman's familiar warmth and scent.

"Sweetness? What's wrong? You've been crying." She snuck an accusatory look at Baron as he shut the door behind him.

"They were not tears of sorrow, Haru. Yuki and I were sharing memories and… well, your first meeting was nothing short of a miracle," he was able to explain with complete honesty.

The brunette immediately softened with a reminiscing smile, holding her child the exact same way she always had. "One of the best days of my life." She pressed a loving kiss to snow-like hair and inhaled the scent of it with nothing short of bliss.

Yuki soaked in her mother's love for a long minute before speaking again. "… Mommy? Was there a movie you did with a Yuki about the time my first mother had me?" There, that was vague enough not to arouse suspicion.

Haru looked down at her girl with surprise, but didn't dodge the question. "Well, not when she had you, but there was a summer blockbuster that came out when she was pregnant with you." She smiled warmly at the memories. "Funnily enough, that was one of the few times I _didn't_ meet the Yuki character via fish cookies. The writer was originally going to name it 'Secrets', but that title didn't test well, so it was switched to 'All I Have Needed'."

"Can we watch it?" Yuki asked, deciding to cut straight to the point.

Her mother's eyes turned wide and panicked. "Sweetie, I thought I explained why I didn't want to show you my work until-"

"I turned twelve, yes, but… I got to thinking about my birth parents while talking to Uncle Humbert."

Haru's eyes went a shade larger, but she kept her mouth shut so that Yuki could continue.

"It's just that… there _is_ a chance that they picked my birth name, and that you had an influence on their decision. If that's the case… please? I want to see what it was that impressed them enough to leave a mark on me. I'm already impressed with you; I doubt I'm going to see anything that's going to change my opinion."

"If anything, that movie will just reinforce your opinion," Haru muttered under her breath. "But Sweetness… I _really_ don't want you to… look at me the way everyone else does," she defended lamely.

"Sorry to say this, Mom- wait, I take that back. I know who you are, Mom. Better than most, and Uncle Humbert said he's never seen your work."

Haru didn't bother fighting back a laugh. "Well, of course he hasn't. Baron has the field experience to tell my action scenes weren't merely choreographed, and Drac didn't want him finding out that certain rumors had a basis in fact prematurely even though it would have come out sooner or later."

"I am within earshot, Haru," he gently reminded with a teasing smirk.

She smirked right back at him with impudence. "That's why there's no point in whispering."

"But I must agree with Yuki on this one. I should have done the proper research before our first meeting, but late is better than never. Unless you would rather I conduct the investigation without your supervision," he teased back.

"Hey, that's a low blow," Haru complained like a child. "Ever since I got on friendly terms with you and your sister, I've been losing arguments right, left, and sideways!"

"Maybe you could try being a little less stubborn."

"Is it your turn to be the kettle already? Oh, right, my turn _was_ yesterday!"

Baron smiled, but didn't quite manage a laugh. "Don't attempt diverting our attention, Haru. Will you agree to show us your work, or do I go elsewhere?"

She gave a growl of exasperation before letting out a long sigh. "F-Fine. I'll show you two 'All I Have Needed'. But it will have to wait until later."

"How come, Mom?"

"Because I've got a guest in my bathroom, and it would be rude to just start watching a movie in the middle of her visit."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," a familiar voice answered, making both Yuki and Baron stand up straighter in surprise. "I think I would also like to see your work for myself, if it would not be too much trouble."

The young girl sharply looked up to a beautiful cat with luxurious black fur and deep brown eyes exiting the bathroom with a gentle smile.

The Cat Queen was in her mother's room! Even if she was dressed much more simply this time, appearing only as a noblewoman instead of a royal.

"Why does it not surprise me that you're siding with Baron, too?" Haru managed a guilty smile at her daughter's shock. "Don't stare too much, Snow Angel. Hiromi wasn't exactly joking when she said she'd pass along what I said about cats."


	27. Responsibility

A/N; Since I usually don't go silent for this long while updating a story, I thought it might be polite to explain myself. I started having troubles with charging my laptop, so I took it to a repair shop. I found out after the fact that it was ready at one and a half weeks instead of three, but I doubt any of you would have seen that much of me if I _did_ have access to my work.

Two days after my laptop went in, my father had a 'widow maker' heart attack. He survived thanks to Mom's bullying to get to the hospital and God's will. He is on the mend, but it was still an extremely scary time, not knowing if he was still going to be around the next day or not. He was overwhelmed by the love and support we got from the members of our church, but he would have preferred a different way to find out how people felt about him. Then on Feb 3, 2019, my grandfather died when his heart stopped beating. It was a lot quicker than his father's death, which Dad was grateful for, but it was still very hard on us, and especially on Dad for good reasons. There was absolutely no DNA testing required to prove they were father and son, both in appearance and in personality. Before all this happened, they were making plans to go boar hunting _for fun!_

Yes, the doctor put his foot down about that.

My grandfather was as ornery as you could get while still being lovable. This was a guy that would interrupt your sentence to crack a stupid joke at the first part of it just to make you give him the death glare. He has been threatened with getting replaced by a mannequin with a recording of either 'yes, bishop' or 'sorry, bishop' occasionally playing from the mouth when serving in the bishopric. His proudest moment of me that I can remember is the time I struck my aunt speechless for a whole minute with the simple question "So who's the straight man in _this_ family?" (She could think of names afterward, but for the moment I had her stumped). He has literally talked himself out of losing his hunting license for ten years by telling a game warden the absolute truth about why he didn't have a permit on him, and who the warden could talk to for confirmation (my father was a part of that, naturally. He didn't have his on him, either, and also got out of trouble for telling the truth). Papa was hardworking and loyal. He commanded respect, he reaped love, and I know for a fact that he was tickled by the fact that people laughed almost continuously at all the things said about him at the funeral. I never really thought that there would be a life without that mountain of a man poking fun at me every chance he could invent, but here we go.

 **Chapter Twenty Seven: Responsibility**

 _With great power comes great responsibility._

 _\- Ben Parker_

 **xxXxx**

 _A middle-aged man stared at the twisted length of bedsheet in his hand, not caring that the dimming light from the kitchen window was making the sight harder to see. He rubbed the makeshift rope between his fingers, guiltily remembering his son's umbilical cord the day he was born._

 _So many hopes he had back then. His boy was going to carry on his legacy. He was going to be the captain of the football team. Every girl would want to be his girlfriend, just like when his father was young._

… _Out of all the dreams he had for his child, the only one that had come true was the one he would have been happy to renounce; more attention than anyone in the town._

 _Frankly, thanks to the cruel joke, his boy now had more attention than anyone else in the_ _ **state**_ _. He kept rubbing the rope between his fingers before his free hand touched the unraveling edge, cut clean by a knife._

 _This was how close he had come to losing his only child. He would have been too busy looking at places to move to until it was too late if…_

 _After three hours had passed of him sitting and thinking, his ears seemed to perk up when he heard a door softly open and close on the second floor of his house. Running like an obedient dog to the bottom of the stairs, he waited eagerly for any news at all._

 _The angel of mercy herself turned out of the hall and descended the staircase as silently as a swan._

 _It was strange, seeing her up close like this. He had already known that she hadn't aged a day since leaving their hometown, but the way she held herself, the firm way she held his gaze as she gave a stiff smile…_

 _This was anything but the mouse he had once known, if he could even say that he knew her at all._

" _He's asleep and feeling much better now. My old lullaby still works like a sedative. Mind if I have a glass of water, Nick?" she asked as if she were an expected guest._

 _He ran to the kitchen to fetch her request. He tried to force gratitude out of his bearded lips, but had trouble making his voice activate._

 _The brunette followed him into the kitchen, sitting at the table before accepting the water. Her large eyes narrowed in disapproval at the noose still clutched in one hand. "I thought I told you to burn that, Nick."_

 _He clutched it even tighter to his heart, sitting across from her as he tried to gain the nerve to speak. "Ha-Haru? Did… you ever…"_

 _Unable to say the words, he merely gestured at the tightly wound bedsheet._

 _She sipped before answering, though her expression was darkly reminiscent. "… I was more interested in the idea of stepping in front of a speeding car. It would have been swifter, less painful, and far more difficult for anyone to stop me midway. But, being an idealistic moron, I had all my hopes pinned on some dashing knight taking me away from that horrible place." Her mouth was then set to a grimace. "We both know how_ _ **that**_ _turned out."_

 _Nick looked down, feeling even worse than before. "I-I'm sorry," he choked out, letting his regret out for only his old victim to see. "I didn't think back then. I should have. Every time Sam came home with more bully stories and bruises, it… reminded me of you. I started closing off from him, because I didn't want to remember."_

 _Her large brown eyes were unsurprised. "He noticed. If you don't want me to cause you trouble, learn how to listen to him and spend time with the boy. He thinks you don't love him because he doesn't have an athletic or popular bone in his body."_

 _Nick rubbed the noose some more; his own eyes far away and troubled. "I didn't think you were going to come. Not if you knew he was mine."_

"… _I wasn't thrilled when I had my agent do a background check after seeing the video," she admitted, running a finger around the glass's edge to emit a soft hypnotic sound. "I even toyed with the idea of breaking into the house like a crazed maniac, scaring the life out of you, making you think I was going to kill you… before spraying you in the face with a disguised water gun."_

 _A half laugh managed to escape his throat. "I'd have deserved it."_

" _But your son wouldn't have. We would have been too late if I had extracted my awesome revenge scheme. Sam's life isn't worth getting back at you."_

" _You already did get back at me." He folded his arms on the table and rested his head on them, much the way he used to do in their high school days. "Every time I heard your name or saw a poster for one of your movies, I would remember what I used to do to you for kicks. My wife was a gigantic fan of yours, had every movie and song you made before her time came. She served me burnt food for a month after I came clean about… knowing you personally."_

 _She sniffed at his word choice. "That's a bit of a generous way to put it. But I will say that I'm glad you finally grew up. You had me convinced that you were devil spawn for years."_

 _He nodded miserably and without much surprise. "I might as well have been. Haru… thank you for not taking out on Sam what I did. Thank you for… saving his life."_

 _She gave a half-shrug and finished her water with a smile. "I'm just glad I didn't have to spill blood again. And thank_ _ **you**_ _for not calling me 'Harry'."_

" _You know, that name really should have tipped one of us off that something was wrong," Nick muttered under his breath._

" _Yes, it should have." She then straightened her shoulders with a deep breath. "But that's in the past. Now, about Sam; I'd like to take him shopping for a nice tuxedo early tomorrow morning, since he doesn't mind me reusing one of my award gowns. You are free to join us if work allows. My original plan was to have me show up with him at prom as a surprise, but from the look of things, those nasty brats that put up the video will leave him alone a lot faster if they see me picking him up and dropping him off on my motorcycle. I will also be stealing him for two hours after school every day until next Saturday since he's admitted that he can't dance, so I'll be tutoring him. Don't worry about his homework; I'll tutor him in that as well if I'm qualified with the subjects."_

" _It's almost like hearing you talk to my parents about Peggy again," he said wistfully._

 _She managed a small laugh. "I was never this aggressive about Peggy. How is she, by the way?"_

" _Two small boys of her own, trying to keep up with her book club's needs when not writing her own book." 'And nowhere near the brat I used to be.'_

 _The woman beamed happily. "She's still writing? Good for her!"_

 _Nick couldn't help smiling at the story she still told anyone who would listen. "… But the thing she remembers you best for is that you wouldn't let her jump on the bed."_

" _See? I occasionally had a mean streak. Speaking of which…" Haru pulled a cheap dollar store water gun out of her inside jacket pocket, making two pitiful squirts hit her ex-tormentor on one cheek._

" _There. Now we're even."_

 _Nick had never laughed so hard in his life._

xxXxx

"S-Sonya!" her old friend managed to gasp, like he hadn't been expecting a visit so soon.

The Cat Queen sent him a small guarded smile that screamed 'play along'. "I know you said that it would be best for all of us to stay clear of this castle until your contract's complete, but with the rat recovering in a distant hospital, I felt it only proper to pay a visit. Lady Haru was most gracious about accepting my apology for the shattered marble."

"It's not like you _planned_ on that happening." Haru gave an adoring squeeze to her girl before tilting her head at the queen. "Sweetie, this is Sonya, a friend of the von Gikkingen family. Sonya, this is my Yuki."

"The pleasure is all mine. She is a pretty thing, isn't she?" Sonya couldn't resist adding on with a smile of sincerity to the brunette.

"I wouldn't bother lying about that," the mother crooned with adoration.

Though she was clearly nervous about being in the same room as her future mother-in-law, Yuki stood up from the bed and managed a somewhat clumsy curtsy. "It's… nice to meet you, ma'am."

Sonya couldn't fight her relief. _'This is good. She's willing to make the right gestures.'_

But then the girl stopped cold and looked around the room in a panic. "Mom, where's Toby?"

She patted her daughter's snowy hair fondly. "He scratched at the door when you took too long with Baron, so Hiromi, Julia, and Renaldo are out walking him. They should be back before long. Come sit down, Sweetness; we need to have a discussion."

"Oh dear," Yuki muttered while taking back her place next to her mother while Sonya sat herself back in the chair by the bed.

"Would you rather I left?" Baron couldn't help asking, one hand on a light chair from the little table just in case he was needed.

"You should probably stay. This will affect you, too," Haru answered him while rubbing her face against her daughter's hair again.

"Oh dear, oh dear," her daughter fretted as the feline lord carried a chair close enough to complete the little circle.

"Now, darling!" Sonya laughed behind one hand. "It's not as bad as all that." _'She's so adorable when she's flustered!'_

Fighting back a laugh, Haru wrapped one arm around her daughter for a sweet embrace. "Okay, Yuki? You know why I haven't exactly gone out of my way to introduce you to more people than strictly necessary over the years."

"Because if they disrespected me, you would slaughter them or at least break bones until they apologized," Yuki recited through a yawn.

"Do you remember what it was that made me give Drac's movie a chance?"

"… I pushed you into it," Yuki admitted guiltily while smiling at her uncle. "After all those hints you've given about Barons you've worked with, I wanted to meet _this_ one."

He beamed at her happily. "This one wanted to meet you, too."

Haru had a goofy grin of her own, stealing an extra hug out of her child before continuing. "Do you remember what I was most excited about when we thought Albert was getting married?"

"Hmm… you were excited over a lot of things. Showing me new places, introducing me to your old friends, learn about a new culture… I think that's it."

The brown hair tsked at her with a small frown. "I was excited about the possibility of _you_ making _new_ friends."

Yuki's horrified expression made it plain that she knew where the discussion was heading.

Haru started playing with her girl's white locks, almost instantly calming her down. "You were pretty blatant about using your lack of social skills in your favor that day, so I'm calling you on it. Now, don't get me wrong; I'm _thrilled_ that you're getting along so well with Baron and his friends, but… well, I want you to have friends a little closer to your age. I'm still worried sick that if I supervise proceedings, things will run downhill pretty quickly if someone so much as looks at you funny. It's no secret to anybody that you're my weakness."

Yuki gave a nervous look at the eager queen. "Um… so you have children close to my age?"

' _She's already a master at disguising her knowledge!'_ "I have a son, yes, but that's not all, dear. Your mother has also mentioned that she has been giving you lessons on protocol."

Now feeling even more nervous, Yuki took to staring at her blue jeans and twisting the hem of her pink t-shirt with both hands. "It's mostly table manners, dancing, what is and is not permissible in the presence of royalty… you know. Stuff like that. Mom was going to teach me more through osmosis for Albert's wedding."

"Osmosis _is_ the most effective way to learn about court life," Sonya agreed in a heartbeat, thrilled that she wasn't going to have to start Yuki's education from scratch. "I happened to mention to your mum that I have sway in the king's court, and I could arrange for you to socialize with other children in a safe and monitored manner."

Yuki dropped her mouth in horror, clearly expecting something else. "… Multiple… children?"

The mother gently cradled her child's face between loving hands. "Sweetie, Sonya's sworn that you will be completely safe under her care, and my instincts say she won't disappoint us. Anything you'd like to add, Baron?"

He blinked at being addressed but was able to smile at his new friend. "Your instincts are on the mark, Haru. There's precious few people I trust more than Sonya, and I believe this would be an excellent experience for Yuki." But he couldn't help pouting at the implications. "My only complaint is that the arrangement will likely cut into my own time with her."

"Hey, sharing her at all cuts into her time with _me_ ," Haru pointed out with another teasing smirk. "If I can force myself to cope with separation anxiety, so can you."

He nodded, though giving a heavy sigh.

The young kitten was frozen with terror at the thought of meeting her peers. This was _definitely_ outside her comfort zone! The only one even close to her age that she could really talk to was her cousin Tim, who was a good ten years older than her.

"Sweetheart? If you have a concern, now would be an ideal time to voice it," her mum urged gently, still running her fingers through snow-like hair.

Yuki opened her mouth… but nothing came out.

"… You're completely terrified of such a meeting," Baron stated after a long and awkward moment.

The young duchess could only look down and nod in misery.

"Oh, Darling, it won't be as bad as all that," he assured her, kneeling by the side of the bed in order to hold her hands in comfort. "I know all the children Sonya's likely to introduce you to, and they are nothing to be afraid of."

"All of them? Are you sure?" the mum asked in surprise.

The tabby noble nodded without hesitation. "Drac has mentioned that social functions in this dimension very much have a separation between adults and children, but our dimension allows such gatherings to be more family-oriented."

"It sounds better already," Haru muttered under her breath.

' _Humbert, why are you admitting to another dimension?!'_ Sonya had to fight to keep the question a thought instead of a verbal scream.

Baron didn't so much as blink. 'She _thinks I'm method-acting. This way I don't have to remember any lies.'_

"Um… Mom… I don't know about this." The poor girl still looked like she'd rather face a hydra herself than go along with their plan.

Haru hummed in thought before her large brown eyes lit up with mischief. "Oh, Sweetness?" she crooned a little too smoothly with a naughty smile that caught the queen's heart. "What if I sweeten the deal?"

Both Yuki and Baron looked at her with surprise.

"What do you have in mind?" her daughter asked slowly.

"A bribe. If you agree to let Sonya tutor and assist you, and she is satisfied with your progress before filming is over… you get to pick your prize."

"Pardon?" Baron couldn't help asking, hardly believing the good fortune.

"As in, whatever she wants by then, she'll get if I am able to give or do it," Haru clarified, still smiling as if the battle was already over.

Sonya could feel her heart race with excitement. _'Accept the deal!'_ she excitedly thought to the girl who looked stunned by the proposition. _'This is what we need for her to enter the kingdom!'_

Yuki bit her lower lip before locking her eyes with her mother. "… Anything I want? I have your word?"

"You have my word," Haru promised, offering both a pinkie finger and a smile. "Be flattered, Sweet Pea. I've never trusted anyone enough to make a promise like this. Not even Dad."

The young child gave a rather disrespectful snort while capturing the pinkie with her own. "Please. You'd have jumped off a cliff if Grandpa asked you to."

Haru's cheeks flushed a deeper pink now that her blood was getting closer to a normal level, but the woman wasn't healed yet. She looked away while laughing nervously. "Y-You'll find out about that when you're older."

"Wait, you _have_?" Sonya couldn't resist asking.

Her cheeks were turning a deeper pink as her blood struggled to cooperate with her embarrassment. "M-M…M-M-yes, five times!" escaped her lips before she panted heavily.

' _Oh dear, I didn't mean to use my power on her.'_

"Holy peanut butter, you're as hard to lie to as Yuki! Look, my daughter knows that I was up to crazy stunts before adopting her, but-"

"Have you fought more than just the one wolf?" the queen couldn't resist asking.

"A pack of seven when filming and they forgot they were acting, and then one this year that jumped at Yuki," popped out of her mouth, making her firmly cover it with a random pillow.

"Bear?"

"Yes," came out muffled.

"Griffon?"

"Never met one. Gah, please stop!"

"Ah, Sonya? She's at your mercy," Baron interjected, standing up in order to pat his new friend's hand as it tried to keep the pillow over her mouth.

' _That was mean,'_ Yuki informed her, using her unamused expression to express the rest of her displeasure. _'Do you want me to respect you or not?'_

Sonya forced the rest of her questions away for now, instead offering a smile to her latest victim. "My apologies, Haru; I'm afraid I don't always have control over my curiosity, and I have a gift for making people speak the truth."

"I noticed. You and Yuki are going to be best buddies before long," Haru managed to say after a long moment of breathing exercises. "So… Two hours every morning with you, two with Baron after that, then she's mine the rest of the day. Counter offers?"

Sonya and Baron exchanged a look, not bothering to communicate through thoughts.

"I believe that would be a generous starting point, and we can negotiate as needed down the road," she decided, gripping Haru's hand as Baron shook her other one.

The Cat Queen couldn't help appreciating the symbolism that they had unintentionally formed a circle around Yuki, still on her mum's lap.

"Now. With that all settled, I think we are all overdue to look at some of your work, Haru. But Drac forbade anyone to have your contraband within the castle," Baron informed her a little grimly before allowing his hopes a little too high. _'If what the human servants have told me has any truth to it, they could have proven their case long before my terrible first impression on her.'_

"So, if I find out that he's had someone break into my room and steal my flash drives, I can break even more bones when he gets back!" Haru responded, tugging awkwardly at a shoulder bag sitting next to the bed.

Sonya carefully handed it to her, earning a grateful look before the non-human started going through the pockets.

"We're back!" Hilary called out as the door opened, making Toby bark happily at the sight of both his masters.

"Now hold still, little beast," Renaldo scolded, barely able to get at the clasp on the leash in order to let the hound race for Yuki.

She giggled, sliding off the bed to catch her hound in a hug. "Were you a good boy for them, Toby?"

He barked the affirmative before licking her face with his long tongue, his entire lower half wagging along with his tail.

Hilary walked up to the bed with a guilty smile. "Sorry to have left the two of you alone for so long."

 _Lie_ , but Sonya was letting it slide this time. Especially since she was the one that had asked the lady to stay away with the Moon siblings for so long.

"It wasn't any trouble at all, thank you for introducing us, Hiromi," the brown hair assured her, grinning like a mad fiend at the 'new cat costumes' on the trio. "Are you intentionally trying to make me start calling you 'Muta' again, Renaldo? Because that's the best way to do it."

He scratched his brown ear in confusion as his tabby sister tried to hold back her giggles. "No, but the name was growing on me before you stopped. I wouldn't complain _that_ hard if you started it up again."

"We'll see," she promised while unfastening and opening a strange folder from the shoulder bag. "Oh good, they're still here. Or they got replaced with blanks by someone clever."

"What got replaced?" Julia asked, wrinkling her nose at the small bits of technology safely fastened inside the folder.

"Mommy's going to show us one of her movies!" Yuki reported happily, giving her dog a giant hug around the middle.

"Really? How wonderful!" Hilary exclaimed with delight, even clapping her hands together.

"Wait, I didn't agree to show more people," Haru tried to backtrack in a panic, but Sonya wasn't going to have it.

She reached over and patted the woman on the shoulder with a smirk. "Now, now. You wouldn't want your friends feeling left out, do you?"

"Well, it's just…" the star tried to flounder through an excuse.

"Come, come! I've been hoping for a glimpse of your other work, are you going to deny me this?" Hilary pleaded like a child, earning an affectionate eye-roll from her brother. "Why did you think I wouldn't want to know more about Hiromi?"

"This one doesn't have a Hiromi. … But if it means that much to you, the next one we watch can have one, if you're still interested," Haru promised in resignation. "Baron? Would you happen to know where Drac's screening room is? This is going to be a few too many people to crowd around my laptop."

"Yes, though it will need more chairs brought in. Mr. Director seems to think that he's the only one capable of tiring out despite doing nothing but barking orders and insults," he grumbled, standing up so he could sweep his new friend into his arms.

"Gah! Baron, I can walk!" she cried while holding the movie folder to her chest.

"Not if I have any say in the matter," he responded while heading for the door, the others moving to follow him.

"Can I at _least_ put on my makeup first? I don't like being out in public where-" Haru tried to plead, pushing at his chest a little to encourage him to set her down.

Baron stopped so suddenly that Yuki accidentally bumped into him from behind.

He looked the woman straight in the eye and stated his opinion in a tone that tolerated no talking back. "I greatly prefer it when you _don't_ hide your scars. Especially if they were as honorably won as the ones you gained on my account."

Haru's mouth literally fell open, her brown eyes wide with shock as she stared at nothing but him. After a while, she slowly turned to look at her child over his shoulder. "Have you been giving him pointers?"

"I didn't give him _that_ one," Yuki answered with a large grin, patting his arm as if to say, 'good boy!'

Toby must have gotten the idea that they were leaving again, because he was at the door and pawing at it with a hopeful whimper and looking up at Muta with his large dark eyes, begging to be included. The large cat smiled while rolling his eyes, kneeling again so that he could fasten the leash back to the metal ring on the collar.

It probably wasn't needed now that Drac was out of the castle, but it went without saying that a cat would want to keep a dog in the habit of being on a leash.

Nibbling her lip, Haru looked down and nodded a little, making Baron smile in satisfaction and start heading out with everyone else trailing behind him with stifled smirks.

Herald must have heard the conversation, because he opened the door from the other side with a hopeful smile of his own. "I don't suppose I can watch as well? There's little point to guarding someone's room if the someone in question isn't in it."

Haru growled before nodding and looking over Baron's shoulder again. "Yuki? Would you mind completing the running gag and asking Toto if he's interested in watching? And grabbing Hiromi's cowl?"

"On it," she responded, swiftly turning her heel and running towards the window the basset hound not far behind, almost dragging the large babysitter along for the ride.

"Ah, does the birdbrain have to come?" Renaldo complained, though he was fine with staying behind to keep an eye on his little charge.

"Mom wants it," Yuki responded, opening the window wide enough to look around. "Thomas?" she called out with both her voice and mind.

Within seconds he was landing on the sill, carefully looking inside to be sure that Haru wouldn't be able to overhear him. "What would you like, Yuki?"

"Mom's going to show us one of her movies, and was wondering if you'd like to watch, too."

The crow brushed one wing against his cheek in thought. "I have to admit that I've been curious for a while, but I'm not allowed in the castle, remember?"

Yuki was already stuffing her mom's knitting into a nearby bag and slinging it over a shoulder. "If Drac has a problem with it, he can take it up with Mom," she informed him with a smirk.

"Well, when you put it _that_ way," he nearly purred, flying into the room and circling around it once before clipping Renaldo's ear while sailing through the open door.

"Hey, you did that on purpose! Come back and fight, you buzzard!" the large cat howled before giving chase. Toby was only too happy to also chase after the big black bird.

Yuki could only giggle as she closed the door behind her and raced for the stairs.

ooOoo

Baron was extremely gentle about setting his new friend in the comfortable chair that Drac had intended for his own viewing pleasure. "Please feel free to wait right there, Haru."

She cocked an eyebrow at him with an equally cocky grin. "Or what, you'll tie me to the chair?"

"With your own yarn, if you test me."

Haru gave a small laugh and a shrug. "Meh, wouldn't be the first time. But I don't want to damage this pretty yarn…"

"Then don't test me." Tipping his hat once at her with a warm grin, Baron turned away in order to help set up more chairs in the screening room and provide a bit of direction for the servants.

Once word had reached the other inhabitants of the castle of what Haru was going to show the felines, it had taken surprisingly little begging to be allowed to see her work as well.

Shaking her head with a soft smile, the star snuck a hug from her giggling daughter before resuming her knitting.

Thomas flew around the cavernous room a few times, clearly not pleased with the lack of good landing places other than the floor. _'I need somewhere to rest. Mind if I use your lap, Hilary?'_

' _Please help yourself. I doubt Haru would find it strange.'_

' _I'm starting to wonder what she_ _ **will**_ _consider strange,'_ he replied, flying down and nearly nesting in the soft folds of her emerald skirt. _'She didn't exactly spend a lot of time panicking about hydras being real before getting down to business.'_

' _We will find out all about that when the time is right,'_ Hilary assured him while rubbing his back feathers with one hand. _'I take it that she took well to your 'lesson' plan?'_ she couldn't help silently asking her queen now that they were finally having a peaceful moment.

The Cat Queen grinned before looking at the future princess sitting by her side. _'Our friend made it a little too easy. All I had to do was encourage her to tell me about Yuki and offer to help when she made the perfect opening. We really should have opened up to her from the start.'_

' _Indeed,'_ Hilary couldn't help agreeing, fighting back a laugh as a nearly ridiculous number of human servants kept dragging chairs of various sizes and builds into the cavernous screening room. Feeling a bit mischievous, she gave her new friend an affectionate elbow nudge. "I'm surprised you aren't putting up more of a fight over more people seeing your work, Haru."

"There's an exceedingly probable chance that every human here has already seen what I can do, so I'm not worried about that. But let's face facts; everyone in this castle has also been living under Drac's thumb for several months. They've more than earned this, though I apologize in advance when I start talking during the movie!" she called out from the front row seats she and the other women had been provided almost immediately.

"Don't be ridiculous, my lady! I love listening to your commentary options!" one burly fellow assured her with a large grin. "The ones you did with the director's father were _hysterical_!"

Haru could only sigh in longing, her fingers slowing down as her mind traveled down memory lane. "Yeah. They were."

Yuki noticed the depression, not needing any initiative to gently take the knitting away so that she could wrap one of her mum's arms around her shoulders for a nice snuggle, Toby joining in on the love by spreading himself over both laps. _'Aunt Hilary? Is it possible to use the memory spell for someone else?'_

' _Yes, though it is much frowned upon to use it without permission, or at least a reasonable accusation for misconduct and a court order from the king or queen.'_

' _I bet Mom will let me if it's to see Grandpa again. She worshiped everything about him. She said he and I would have conspired against her repeatedly.'_

' _Like we're doing right now?'_ Hilary couldn't keep herself from asking, reaching around Haru's back to rub her niece's head fur with affection.

Yuki rubbed her head against the gentle touch and her mum's shoulder. _'Now you know one of the reasons Mom's so happy to share me.'_

Hilary went ahead and helped herself to a shoulder hug to her friend, who nearly melted at the loving contact as Baron finally sat down on Hilary's other side.

He sent a smile to the brown hair while setting his top hat on his lap. "I think another five minutes for the stragglers would be in order, but I don't think I'm interested in waiting much longer than that."

"That's okay, the opening credits will provide a few extra minutes. How close are you, Greg?"

The assistant finished hooking wires up by now and was merely sitting next to the white-painted wall. "All that's left is turning on the projector and pressing 'play'."

"You're still awesome-" Haru tried to say before being rudely interrupted.

"Wait! Stop everything!" a well-built human woman screamed as she burst into the large room, looking around with a panic before laying eyes on Haru. She rushed forward, even as the brown hair gave a tired sigh.

"What is it, Felicia?"

The tall woman stood right in front of the star in order to place her hands on her hips like she was scolding a child. "This room is exclusively for Drac to look over footage, he will be _incensed_ when he finds out about this!"

Haru couldn't resist putting on a high falsetto voice and a mocking tone. " _Oh no, someone bigger and stronger than me will get upset if I dare to step out of line when he's not around. Whatever will I do when he finds out how naughty I am?_ "

That made a handful of the servants loitering around laugh, but she wasn't finished yet.

"That's between Drac and me when he's well enough to make his complaints. Thanks for your time, now go tell on me for this as well."

Felicia flinched, but wasn't going to give up. "He has also forbidden your other movies from this castle, Haru, and he does own-"

"When I said I don't want to talk to him again, that includes people that act as his mouthpiece!" Haru snapped, making the woman flinch again while taking a step back. "I still say that's between him and me, and quite frankly, the cat's already out of the bag. I don't think Baron and his friends are going to be that shocked at what they're going to see, so you can either pick a seat and keep your mouth shut, or you can get forcibly escorted out by whoever answers my call."

"You called?" Julia asked, nearly appearing in front of the woman with a naughty smirk.

Haru gave her feline friend a cordial smile, as if she were only going to ask for a glass of water. "Good question. Ask Felicia if she can stop being a spy for a while."

"Can you?" the cat maid purred while cracking her knuckles at the not-so-secret spy, who was now paling and backing away in fear. "… Hesitation means you can't!"

Felicia screamed while being chased out of the room, much to the confusion and amusement to the handful of cooks that slipped through the door with their hastily prepared offerings of popcorn, pastries and fruit.

"That's all of us, my lady!" one of them called out, encouraging Julia to lock up after them. "All but Felicia in any case."

"Fantastic. Everyone, please find your seats so that the show can begin!" Haru called out, immediately making the large crowd behind her start shuffling around excitedly as the food started getting passed from row to row.

Since the first and second row had cats that were unfamiliar with this world, Yuki hurriedly called to her new friends with her mind, _'The popcorn has milk content in this world, and so do the danishes. Stick with any fruit that isn't orange or purple.'_

The queen gratefully let her hand waver over a pastry that had caught her eye and instead turn to a red apple.

Renaldo took a seat directly behind his sister's, just to the side enough that he could see the movie but not cut off the vision of anyone directly behind him. "How long did Felicia work for you, again?" he grunted with a sour face that was likely partially due to needing to miss out on sweets for now.

Haru growled in annoyance while nodding at Greg to start the movie, taking a bunch of grapes for herself as her daughter also claimed an apple. "Twelve years. She started a little after the last judge told Drac that if he tried to violate the restraining order one more time, he'll be lucky to live long enough to see prison. I really should have wondered more about why Angelica 'suddenly' felt the need to switch careers with zero foreshadowing and barely a week's notice."

Renaldo rolled his eyes, unable to stop what came from his mouth. "Haru, you can be _ridiculously_ oblivious when you set your mind to it!"

Haru turned around in her seat to stare at him with a slightly amused smile as another servant turned down the lights. "You don't have a lot of experience insulting people, do you, Muta?"

Hilary wasn't prepared for what happened next. As her hand was coming up to hide a series of giggles, a loud familiar sound came from her right. She looked over sharply, unable to believe her own eyes.

Humbert was _laughing_! Not discreetly, and certainly not politely. He was doubled over his stomach so far, he actually fell out of his seat!

Hilary wasted no time rescuing the top hat from getting flattened as the cook moved out of the way in surprised to keep the food moving, but it was all Hilary could do to stare at the miracle.

If she could have been bothered to look behind her, she would have seen that the humans were just as stunned at the reaction as the felines.

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" Haru snapped, gently easing Toby back onto her daughter's lap. She precariously stood to her full height while glaring at the laughing feline rolling over the stone floor, hands on hips with one still gripping her knitting. "After four and a half months of jokes, pranks, and gags, _that's_ what sets you off?!"

Hilary closed her eyes, _soaking_ in the beautiful sound she had been denied since childhood. She couldn't see it, but Thomas' beak had fallen open in complete shock as he stared between feline and the unknown.

"You've got a messed-up sense of humor, has anyone told you that?! The pie didn't work, the toilet paper didn't work, even the **clown nose** couldn't make you crack a smile, and now you're the Dark Lord Chuckles?!"

That made Humbert laugh even harder, gasping between his mirth as Yuki nervously joined in for a small bit, knowing what cartoon her mother just referenced but knowing now wasn't the time to talk about it.

"I wasn't even trying this time! Is that how to make you laugh? Insulting your friends' ability to insult? Just how twisted are you, anyway?!" Haru demanded, twisting the knife as much as she could to make sure the laughter continued.

"Me-Mercy!" the poor ginger managed to wheeze, smiling through the torture.

"Then say it, mister! I can stand here and berate you for laughing when I wasn't trying all day if I have to!" The look on her face screamed that she absolutely would if he didn't way what she wanted to hear.

That set him off again, though he could hardly laugh through the desperate need to regain his breath. "Y… Yo-you're… _hysterical_!"

"And don't you forget it!" she snapped while pointing at him, now grinning through her fake irritation. "But on a more serious note, Baron, you have a beautiful laugh. You should consider showing it off more often."

Hilary beamed at Haru worshipfully as she reclaimed her seat. Unable to contain her gratitude, the tawny feline wrapped her arms around the strange woman and nuzzled her happily as her equally tawny brother slowly calmed down.

"Good thing Greg hasn't started the movie yet. Those commercials get annoying after a while," Haru commented, wrapping one arm around Hilary as Thomas walked to her lap and started running his beak over one arm in gratitude. "Maybe give the chuckling lord a few more minutes before starting?" she asked while rubbing her free hand over the crow's head and neck with a gentle tenderness.

Greg could only nod in dumb compliance.

"… I'm making you a cake later," Renaldo informed Haru, making her look over her shoulder in surprise.

"I don't need a cake."

A smile teased at his lips. "I didn't ask if you needed one. What's your favorite flavor?"

"Am I going to lose this argument, too?" she asked tiredly.

"It's been twelve years since he's laughed," he stated, giving her a nearly worshipful look around his insistence.

"… I'm sure any flavor you make will be amazing," Haru sighed in defeat, releasing Hilary in order to gently touch Humbert's shoulder when he was finally able to reclaim his seat on the other side of his sister. "Do you feel any better?"

"Unbelievably so, thank you," he answered in relief through some tired pants, though he was holding his stomach like he had been through a strenuous training session. He tried to discreetly remove the tears of mirth with a handkerchief, but his queen could already smell that it had already been soaked today.

Sonya smiled with genuine pleasure. _'Whatever Lady Haru might have been born to be, I'm glad that she's giving relief to poor Baron. He really has been carrying too much for far too long.'_

"Good, let's start the show!" Haru exclaimed happily, making one cook that had just finished passing refreshments rush to dim the lights. "As a fun piece of trivia, the guy that plays Baron in this one really is a baron, and most of the scenes were filmed in his castle, though it's more of a manor size compared to this one. Every actor within his walls other than myself really does live there as hired help or family. He also wrote the script and sent it to me in a bid to bring more tourists to the area. He said this film probably wouldn't have been made if I had said no."

ooOoo

"Muta plays your _father_?!" Renaldo gasped in guilty surprise.

Haru finished swallowing her mouthful of red grapes before answering. "Just in my favorite interpretations. Roles get switched between movies."

"… You're getting a triple layer cake," he muttered under his breath, making his sister punch his shoulder in comfort.

' _It's not like you knew that was why she was so fond of the name.'_

' _All I had to do was ask her, Julia. Yuki said so from the beginning.'_

"Did your mom really look like that?" the child in question whispered as Toby and Thomas continued to cautiously sniff and inspect each other from their respective laps.

Haru held off on another grape to answer first. "Her hair was longer, and she never would have been brave enough to do this. But pretty much yes, if you take away the glasses."

ooOoo

"I think that castle's the same size as our summer one," Hilary noted to her brother, who was carefully taking in every detail which his usual methodical expression.

"It is however lacking the lake and waterfall."

"Just be patient," Haru hissed through the side of her mouth.

ooOoo

Baron cocked his head in confusion. "Odd. I would have thought that Toto would be a crow from your insistence."

Haru nodded without thinking about it. "He usually is. This is one of the handful of times he's just a human. But I always thought he was more fun as a sarcastic talking crow."

Thomas happily opened his beak to please her… right before his master reached past his sister and held it shut with one hand. He tried to squawk, flapping his wings frantically with dislike as Haru looked down in surprise.

"I think I better hold him for a while," Baron insisted with a faux innocent smile, sweeping the crow onto his own lap and keeping him tucked under one arm to keep him still.

' _You're no fun, Humbert!'_

' _And she's no fool, Thomas! Hush!'_

' _Also, I think her pet name for me suits me better than my normal one. Can you-'_

' _ **Hush**_ _! Later!'_

ooOoo

"Ah ha! _This_ is the movie you climbed a castle for!" Yuki realized excitedly as a white-haired version of her mother climbed swiftly enough to rival Spiderman. "But where's Yuki?"

" _Patience_ , Sweetness. She'll show up soon enough."

"Goodness! However did you get all those shards out of your feet?" Sonya whispered sickly as the possessed woman on the screen paid no heed to the glass littering the little girl's room.

Haru giggled slightly at the memory. "That's actually a window made of sugar. The hard part was throwing myself into the room with enough force to shatter it."

ooOoo

The Cat Queen started rocking herself slightly in her seat, doing her best not to bring herself to Haru's attention. _'Do not mention that personality changing potions exist. Do not mention that personality changing potions exist and can have an effect on children if taken while pregnant… even though the potions turn fur bright pink instead of white.'_

ooOoo

Yuki could only feel a chill when her namesake finally appeared on the screen. "You never said that Yuki was a kitten!" she whispered harshly to her mother, only getting a shrug for a reply.

"You never asked."

' _I bet that's not far off from how you will look when you go through the change,'_ Hilary tried to cheer her up.

' _That's not what I'm worried about. This movie's hitting a little too close to home.'_

ooOoo

Baron swiveled his head around to glare at Haru accusingly. "Is this a joke? You get abducted by someone not of your own species, and you grow concerned over not enough **lighting**?!"

The brown hair in question could only sigh at him. "I was _acting_ , Baron. It took us twenty takes for John not to break down laughing when I said the line."

He smiled, remembering all the times she had tried to make him mess up a take by doing something ridiculous. Even if she hadn't been successful until today, it had still amused him to see Drac lose his composure again and again.

" _Her name was Louise Cross-"_

His smile immediately faded, not expecting to hear that name _now_ of all times! His sister wasted no time reaching over and grabbing a hand to comfort him while giving Haru a shaken look, Yuki looking just as shocked as he felt.

"L-Louise?" the child stuttered questioningly.

The not-human answered in an off-hand manner, not bothering to take her eyes off the screen. "Another stock character that pops up every now and again. I'll tell you more about her later if you'd like. She doesn't really appear in this one."

"Thank codfish," Baron couldn't resist muttering as Toto rubbed against one arm to try and offer comfort of his own.

Still! What were the odds that name would show up **here**?! And in relation to one that would be easy to confuse with himself if that cat costume had been more convincing?!

ooOoo

Yuki finally got up and sat herself on her mother's lap, unnerved that the cat Yuki onscreen was doing nearly the same thing.

"As if getting bullied in real life wasn't bad enough," she nearly whispered into her mother's ear, earning a hug for the concern.

"Bullies happen, Sweet Pea. But I can promise that at least some of them grow into good people, given enough time to think things over."

The little girl hmphed angrily. "I bet you wouldn't say that about anyone from the nightmare pit."

Haru looked at her long and hard before giving a small laugh. "That's a story for another time, Sweetheart. But take it from someone who knows that holding grudges will cause a lot more heartbreak than it fixes."

"I second the notion," her uncle wasted no time agreeing, still looking guilty.

ooOoo

" _A Cat…_ _ **Prince**_ _?"_

Sonya could only feel shock at the familiarity of the miniscule dark tom that so strongly resembled her son. She couldn't restrain the need to reach over and grip Yuki's hand, even if it meant getting a lick on her fingers from the little beast on the little girl's lap.

" _I believe it's all right now… Prince Lune seems to be a better cat than his kinsman."_

" _Don't you mean 'kinscat'?"_

Yuki didn't like this at all. Even before his name was announced, the movie's music and camera focuses were making it obvious that her namesake and the prince's were going to wind up together.

"This prince is a one-time character, right?" she whispered to her mother, who smirked while shaking her head.

"Oh no. Whenever a Yuki character has a love interest, it's either a prince or can be easily mistaken for one. Speaking of which, Sweet Pea; if you wind up with a prince or a guy named Lune when you're older, I will giggle at you mercilessly for the rest of my life."

' _Well, at least she's open to the idea of Yuki marrying into royalty. But this is_ _ **far**_ _too close to the mark!'_ Baron thought in a panic.

ooOoo

"… I will never say that Drac was right, but your own assumption was correct, Haru. That is most certainly _not_ a choreographed duel," Baron was able to conclude as Christine Daae tried to fend off a vampire to finish off her persecutor.

Haru smiled while resting her head on Hilary's shoulder. "Naw, John and I would spar for hours and just try to steer clear of the cameras when it came time to shoot a scene. It felt more natural that way, so the director never bothered correcting us."

"How are you _not_ tripping over that heavy skirt?" Sonya asked with a bit of wonder as she stared at the costumed duel.

"Lots of practice, though now you know why I try to save skirts for special occasions. Keeping that heavy thing out of the way was a lot more difficult than I'm making it look."

"… Would you be interested in a duel after Timothy clears you for it?" Baron couldn't help asking. "You're going rather easy on that one, even as a berserker."

"Now _that_ sounds like fun!" Haru exclaimed excitedly while clapping her hands together.

ooOoo

"How could you _not_ tell that she was pregnant?" Hilary demanded while waving her hand at the screen. "They all but painted it on the walls!"

"I was _acting_ , Hiromi. I'm very good at that, in case you haven't noticed. Besides, I thought this was a cute way of telling my character about becoming a big sister."

"Well, I can grant you that. How can you cry like that on command?"

"I let myself forget I'm acting and get swept away in the moment." The star then scowled. "I just wish that crying didn't get so much positive feedback. It feels like I'm always crying for a role."

ooOoo

"I see that our Baron was not the first one that you've been a singing voice for. His lip movements are slightly off," Sonya noted in disapproval.

"That's partially the editor's fault. I do another singing voice later. Muta, if you would mind wrapping your arm around Yuki's ears when I say so? She doesn't need to hear **that** song."

"Ready and willing!" he responded, pointedly scooting his chair a little closer to the pouting child.

"And there's the kissing double Yuki spoke of," Julia pointed out as a woman that looked identical from the back started getting a little friendly with the Baron onscreen.

Haru wrapped an arm around her daughter's ears and eyes the best she could before answering, despite the girl's protests. "Say what you will, but there is no way I'd have agreed to stay in the acting business this long if I wasn't allowed to pay someone else to do those kisses!"

"Does Drac expect _you_ to go through something like this?" Hilary asked, averting her eyes towards her brother in embarrassment.

Strangely, Baron felt less relief than when he had been given that answer months ago. "No, he assured me from the beginning that all chemistry between Haru and myself was to be implied alone. I suspected from the beginning that the true reason was because he can't handle the idea of a scene so much as _looking_ like Haru was showing affection for someone other than himself."

"But on the bright side, at least you're not going to have to get overly friendly with some strange girl," Haru pointed out with a smile.

He returned the smile without a thought. "That has been in my count of blessings, I assure you." _'Though you must be the strangest one I'll ever meet.'_

ooOoo

' _That's not how my birth mother looked as a human,'_ Yuki noticed, both relieved and miffed that this version of Louise was pretty much an unscarred and longer-haired version of her adoptive mother.

"I like Louise better as a white cat, myself," Haru noted absently, making every feline jump in response.

"Especially when she has blue or green eyes. Much more interesting than just having me do double-time in a wig and no scar makeup."

Baron had to turn away from the screen in order to do some heavy breathing into his gloved hands.

ooOoo

"There's your lake. Happy now?" Haru asked as her movie-self fell through the water, only to land on a shore as if the lake were no more than a mirror portal.

Baron was too busy staring at the fact that the kidnapping cats were now towering over her, forcefully taking her into a castle that looked nearly identical to a duke's he knew.

"' _Your grace, huh? Must be a duke, then.'"_

His jaw dropped again.

ooOoo

"The funny part about _this_ actor is that he talked me into a separate kissing double than the one for John. Scott managed to bring his wife to a luncheon to talk me into hiring her as a kissing double for an upcoming scene. I was slightly skeptical, but frankly, her biggest problem was making it look like I wasn't enjoying the attention when he gets aggressive. Though, really, I _had_ to support a husband devoted enough to talk to me into letting his wife have the job. Be ready with your arm in a few minutes, Renaldo."

" _Haven't you ever heard of anesthetics, Mephy?"_

Despite the gravity of the situation, Hilary couldn't resist giggling at the line.

ooOoo

"Hasn't anyone in this world ever heard 'better off dead than wed in red'?" Hilary complained. "I mean, that dress is quite lovely, but not something advisable for a bridal gown."

"If it had a more modest neckline and white petals instead of red, it might have had a chance," Haru countered, though pulling an uncomfortable face at an outfit she clearly had no love for.

"Sleeves would also help," Sonya added, though she was more than sickened by how drugged Haru looked as she was nearly dragged to the altar.

"Sleeves, shawl, a torch… any of those would have improved that dress," Haru implied, giving a little smirk as her movie self somehow gained the strength to make herself fall face-first into the rose petals imitating an aisle runner. "I _hated_ getting talked into wearing that thing! I don't care about how many dolls of me with that dress sold!"

Baron had to stop himself from asking if she was wearing makeup over body scars for this one, or if this was before she began acquiring them in earnest.

"Now, Renaldo!" Haru ordered instead of asked as the priest gave the duke permission to greet his wife.

The babysitter wasted no time leaning forward and using his ample arm to both blind and deafen the little girl to the forced kiss that actually looked fairly authentic.

ooOoo

Renaldo noticed that the humans in the same aisle and behind him were covering their ears when the onscreen Haru was preparing to sing that overly sensual song, but he was too busy wondering why they would react like that to someone so easily confused with a siren until it was too late.

" _Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of_ _ **beer**_ _! Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall!"_

Renaldo removed his arm to cover his ears, barely noticing that the other felines were doing the same things while barely covering their yowls of displeasure.

But through his meaty hands, the only sound he could hear other than the painful shrieks was the current Haru's rather evil cackle of delight.

"I never get tired of that gag! The director, John, and I kept it a secret that I was going to be _this_ bad! Oh, look; there goes the camera lens," she laughed as the scene seemed to shatter like a mirror from her wails as the other actors in the movie started wishing for death.

Even Toby had woken from his nap and was now howling at the horrible sound.

"Mommy, this _hurts_!" Yuki nearly wept, making Haru use her own arms for additional padding on the girl's ears.

"Shh, Sweetness. It'll be over soon enough."

ooOoo

Baron had to admit that he was relieved that the happily ever after didn't involve 'his' character giving up being a cat, but his blood was still running cold when the movie finally ended. A loud applause from behind soon distracted him from his thoughts, though he was still a little worried when Haru precariously managed to stand on her own once more as one of the crew turned the lights back on.

She gave the audience a surprisingly elegant bow with another one of her childish grins before turning her attention to her daughter. "So? Penny for your thoughts?"

Yuki still looked paler than normal, but there was a smile on her face. "That was _amazing_! Can we watch another one?"

Haru winced as the applause grew louder with approving 'whoop' sounds. "What about your headaches?" she asked while taking back her seat with a bit of relief.

"That one barely gave me any at all! Please, Mom? Can we watch another one?" her little girl begged while abusing her 'dangerous' blue eyes as much as possible.

"You _did_ promise we could watch one with Hiromi next," Hilary reminded with an eager smile of her own.

"I didn't mean _today_ ," Haru tried to defend herself, but even she could see that she was going to lose this fight as well.

Baron couldn't take it anymore. He very pointedly got up and dragged his chair directly to in front of his new friend before sitting down again. "Haru," he said with all the calmness he didn't feel. "The way you've been talking about certain characters from your work have more than hinted that they have been repeated more times than you can conveniently count. Would you be so kind as to tell me what started your association with them?"

The conductor in the back gave a childlike squeal before hurriedly dragging his own chair four rows closer. "I love this story!" he gushed like a child as other servants also drew forward with eager grins.

"Steven, you would!" Haru retorted, her smile turning fond and reminiscing as she wrapped an arm around her equally curious daughter.

"Dad used to say it's because of something I did. I still say it's something _he_ did. But I guess we are both to blame for the popular stereotypes."


	28. Impossible

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Impossible**

 _Alice: This is impossible._

 _Hatter: Only if you believe it is._

 _-Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland_

 **xxXxx**

 _James lit up with pride, passing the paper back to the young lady he was sharing an outside café table with. "I really am proud of you, Sweetheart. You've more than earned this triumph."_

 _Haru nodded, still looking down at the degree with strangely disappointed eyes before sliding it back into the manila folder. "So much for being too stupid for college. I'm thinking about my next goal being a masters' in music so I can learn how to write music for my lyrics. Maybe dance after that, since you've always said I have a talent for it."_

 _The older man beamed happily at her work ethic, even if he wasn't that pleased with her depressed monotone. "That's my girl! But you will need a way to pay for further education, which is partially why I was thrilled to have lunch today. Have you had any offers lately?" he asked eagerly. He would have loved to do another movie with her, but inspiration hadn't really struck him since the success of their second movie._

 _She flinched, looking down at the napkin she was now wringing between her hands. "… Rachel's going to talk to me about job offers tomorrow. The five or so directors willing to wait for me to get this degree have earned at least my attention for a bit. Thankfully Rachel's passed on that I won't have anything to do with vampire roles, so that's one stake in my side I won't have to worry about."_

 _James couldn't help frowning at the tone in her voice. "The mermaid rumors will pass in time, Haru. These fads come and go, you know."_

" _Not fast enough to erase the damage," she murmured, still studying the table instead of looking up at her first true friend._

 _James sighed, reaching across the table to grip her hand in comfort. "_ _ **You're not a monster**_ _, Haru. Joker's been asking for what happened since crawling out of that chemical vat. Batman's beatings weren't sticking, he corrupted at least one Arkham shrink-"_

" _Who sent me a thank you card after she got over him kissing another girl for bragging rights," she added in depression, squeezing his hand like tomorrow wasn't going to come. "I guess I'm lucky that losing him helped her regain her sanity instead of coming after me for revenge."_

 _He rubbed his thumb over her fingers, grateful that he could get away with this much. "I don't think she would have stood a chance against you, Sweetheart. Not if Joker couldn't."_

" _Could we talk about something else?" she begged in a whisper, suddenly noticing a tabby that had walked by their table with a dead mouse in its mouth. The poor thing had a bleeding paw, so the stride was uneven._

" _Very well, dear. How are those fencing lessons coming along?" James asked, not really paying the feline any attention._

 _Haru's eyes were trailing after the cat as she answered her first real friend. "Pretty well. It's kind of ridiculous, but my trainers can never quite get it through their heads that telling me I'm not physically suited for fighting makes me that much more de-" Her eyes went huge as she cut herself off, nearly catapulting herself out of the chair and tearing her hand from his grip._

" _Haru?" he asked, turning to keep her in line of sight. But even as he realized what she was up to, it was simultaneously too late to stop her. "HARU!"_

 _Not acting like she had heard him, the young lady didn't halt her stride, briefly jumping into the road, sweeping the injured cat into her arm and performing a rolling save back onto the sidewalk just before becoming roadkill. She hissed in pain as the feral cat slashed her arm, forcing her to drop the stray._

 _The tabby wasted no time rushing to the other side of the road, which was briefly clear, thank heaven. Unfortunately, because the star couldn't step outside her home without gaining followers, there were three different photographers that had been able to record the risky rescue._

 _Well, at least his little star would appreciate the change of subject in her tabloids._

" _Haru, what were you_ _ **thinking**_ _?" James demanded, shoving her first college degree into his jacket before leaving the table. The large man rushed to her side to look at the claw marks. His almost comically small hands were shaking so badly, that he was having trouble inspecting the wounds. "Who knows what diseases that thing has?! Let's get you to a hospital for shots!"_

 _She obeyed his directions without a fuss, letting him shove her into a quickly-flagged down taxi and away from the café, all before the waitress was back to take their orders or the reporters could come close enough to ask for questions._

 _James kept his arm around the girl, holding her tight with one arm as he continued to shake. 'Just one hesitation, one second off, and I'd have lost the best thing to ever happen to me. I wish I could feel guilty about saying that about someone other than Padraic.' "What were you_ _ **thinking**_ _, Haru? You could have died, and all for some stupid stray that no one would have missed!"_

 _Her large brown eyes slowly looked up at him, looking strangely dead. "… You've forgotten already, haven't you?"_

 _He blinked, not certain what she meant. He had every conversation they had ever shared engraved in his mind. "Forgotten what? I don't remember you saying anything about liking cats in particular. You have Balto because you told me that you like dogs."_

 _She kept looking at him, even while snuggling into his embrace and gripping his handkerchief against her scratches. "This isn't about Balto. Speaking as a former stray that no one would have missed… I didn't do a thing that you wouldn't have been willing to do for me."_

 _His heart broke as he increased his own grip. "Are you ever going to let yourself forget how things used to be, Sweetheart?"_

 _She rested her head against his thumping heart, her eyes a million miles away. "It's better if I don't. It'll keep my head from getting too big from all the attention."_

 _Even as James laughed at the idea of his sweet angel growing as conceited as some of the stars he's directed, a small thought kept fluttering through his mind._

 _What if that cat had fully understood what Haru did for it?_

xxXxx

"You can't see the scars from that cat since they barely broke the skin," Haru said with a sheepish smile as all the felines inspected the arm in question. "I didn't see Dad for nearly a week after the incident, and I thought he was avoiding my calls because he was upset with me. But then he all but kidnaps me _again-_ "

"Again?" Baron asked worriedly, but she waved his concern off with a fond smile.

"It's my running gag, you don't know how often it happens. But yes, he kidnapped me from my home in order to show off the byproducts from the dreams he blamed on my little venture with danger."

Sonya could feel her blood freeze at the word, interrupting her guilt over the healing bruise left by Binder. "… Dreams?"

Haru grinned reminiscently. "Yep. Dad had some real intense dreams about me being surrounded by a bunch of tall cats with hands, so as soon as he woke up, he started writing down every detail he could remember about them, since he couldn't shake the feeling that they had significance. When he writes his own script, he usually worries about plot first and characters second, but he kept swearing it was like he was possessed while preserving everything he could from the dream. Sketches, character bios, interactions with each other, you name it. And the way he told me about them felt a lot more like he was introducing me to people that were going to be lifelong friends. Which, in hindsight, wasn't really that far off. Yuki, you know that painting of Baron reading a book?"

"The one you hung in the music room?" the child asked, clearly a little freaked out by all this.

"Dad painted that. He even found a way to use it in the first movie that used the 'Cat Formula', though he insisted on letting me have the painting after shooting was done. He was thrilled that the cast was so popular, he could get away with using them for as many movies as he darn well pleased. He even found a way to patent the idea so that whenever someone else borrowed the Cat Formula, they had to make a sizable donation to a homeless shelter first. He made sure I would be in charge of such details after his death since Drac would have just lined his pockets with the idea."

"… What sort of other characters were not present in this one?" Renaldo asked in a slightly horrified hush.

The seemingly young woman bit back another laugh. "Ooh, well, you never actually saw the Cat King in this one, but he's usually a purple to grey longhair-"

Sonya's mouth fell open.

"Blue and red eyes, just like Lune, but wall-eyed. Slightly crazy with a penchant for blowing up buildings if left to his own devices. Will make snap decisions without considering long-term consequences, but I would call him more childishly enthusiastic than a bad ruler."

Baron could only shudder at how accurate that description was.

Haru continued without noticing her feline friends' discomfort. "But because of his compulsive nature, he gets to be the villain a lot. He has two advisors; one is incredibly serious and competent, and the other one… well, probably only has the job since court jesters fell out of style and he probably comes from a respected family."

Sonya couldn't restrain a light laugh at how right the assumption was. _'Well, Phoebus has more advisors than that, but other than Baron, they are without a doubt the most prominent.'_

Haru tapped her thumb against one leg in thought. "As I mentioned before, Louise is usually a white cat with blue or green eyes. Very ladylike, usually ends up as either my romantic rival, Baron's mother with Baron being a junior, a few times she was his sister-"

"Don't forget the times _you_ were Louise," a chef complained, making her roll her eyes with a playful smirk.

"Perish the thought. I kind of like how it was handled in this movie; even _I_ was never told whether or not my character was her reincarnation for this one."

' _No, but you certainly had no qualms about stepping into her shoes,'_ Baron concluded, sparing a glance at his niece.

"But I've been theorizing for years that our characters were cousins four or five times removed. Oooh, did I get mad at Dad for burning the Cat Queen notes," Haru fumed, making the one close by flinch slightly. "He thought the Cat King would be more interesting without someone to rein in his enthusiasm, and I couldn't get him to agree with me that she had a lot of potential until long after the burning. He was never able to replicate her notes."

Sonya felt a twinge of pain, but really, how could the girl know? Hilary sent her a comforting look without trying to be obvious.

Haru gestured with her hands as she kept talking. "As a result, if the Cat Queen isn't eventually the Yuki character or myself, she's usually barely more than a brow-beaten trophy wife. One time, the director cheated and pretty much gender bent the Cat King's personality, but that wasn't one of my favorite jobs. It's too bad; I'm pretty certain I remember reading that she was a positive influence on her husband. I'd have liked to see how crazy the Cat King would act if he had a sane wife that he genuinely respected. When the director doesn't just cheat and make Baron king, that is."

Hilary's eyes flicked once more to her thoughtful queen before offering a nervous smile to her friend. "Maybe you'll see it in a later job."

Haru gave a light-hearted scoff. "Not likely. After this is over, I'm going to find a much better hidden retirement spot so that I can focus on raising my daughter. I mean, all this is fun," she stated while gesturing around her as if at the castle and her career in general. "But I just want to be a mom right now."

Yuki could only melt at the sincerity in every syllable, snuggling deep into that familiar embrace as Toby lounged happily across both of their laps again.

"… I don't suppose you were able to keep a hold on those notes?" Baron finally managed to ask. "They sound like they would be an… _interesting_ read."

Dramatic understatements seemed to be a catching trend.

Haru managed a strangely sarcastic laugh while increasing her hold on the child. "Dad made me take the notes before his voice gave out completely from cancer. He wanted to make sure Drac didn't do anything to them. They're at the Refuge in a safe spot. Too bad I probably won't be able to go back for them at this point," she mourned. "Not without Drac tracking everything again."

He didn't waste a second. "What if there was a safe way to retrieve them?"

She looked up in confusion.

"With you here, why would he pay any attention to the Refuge at all?" he hinted.

Haru bit her lip, stealing a nervous glance at the crowd of hirelings behind her. Their bias was very obviously toward her, but how much would it really take for Drac to squeeze one of them for information?

"We can discuss it later. So, am I going to lose the fight over a second movie right now?"

"Yes," came the answer from more than one person.

She sighed tiredly. "Requests?"

"The first cat one!" Sonya demanded before remembering that hardly anyone present was aware that she was a queen.

"Oh please?" Hilary asked quickly to take some of the attention off the black hair. "Does that one have a Hiromi?"

"It does, but it's not her best presentation," Haru admitted, nodding at Greg in compliance. "'My Feline Gentleman's on the first drive. It's a cheesy movie-"

"Hey!" more than one of the humans protested, making the star roll her eyes with an affectionate smile.

"-But as you can see, it's still got a lot of dedicated fans."

ooOoo

"This certainly explains how the rat had the magic necessary to trap and bind Humbert," Sonya said as she and Hilary tucked Yuki into her own bed. "It appears that he inherited it from his father's side."

"Do you think Grandpa really _saw_ all of us?" the child asked around a yawn, though she was trying to fight her fatigue long enough to gain an answer.

Hilary was pacing around the room, trying to suppress her spark of hope. "It _would_ explain how your mum knew so many of us long before a meeting." Scratching one ear nervously, she gave her queen a look that screamed for a reason to celebrate. "Your majesty… you don't think… she and my brother…?"

"We'll have a better chance of reaching conclusions after your brother retrieves those notes." Taking in a deep breath, the Cat Queen walked forward enough to grip the tawny maiden by the shoulders. "Hilary, I know what you want. There isn't a single citizen of our kingdom that has doubts over your hopes for your brother. But if you want what we saw in those movies to become a reality, without the kissing double, let your brother worry about what will happen from here. Your attempts to help… are less than successful, dear."

Hilary deflated. "But… I want…"

Yuki yawned before interrupting. "Just be her friend. We all know that's all the help Uncle Humbert will allow, and Mom will want. They're both too stubborn to listen to what we say about romance anyway."

Both cat women nodded with wry smiles and sighs of agreement.

ooOoo

"… But whatever your friend does, warn him not to try breaking into the first door when he gets to the second staircase. I have it rigged to electrocute anyone that tries to get into my weapons vault that isn't me," Haru warned much later that night after saying goodnight to her child.

Baron pocketed the small set of keys she had entrusted to him before pulling her covers up a little higher. "I'll make certain to say so, thank you. Truly, I am more than eager to see the original notes to all of the Cat Formula."

She gave another fond, reminiscing smile before snuggling down into the warm blankets until he could barely see her face. "Dad laminated every page, so they'll still be somewhat legible. He had pretty messy handwriting when he got excited over an idea he was afraid to lose."

Baron chuckled slightly, turning on one heel to leave. But just as he was taking the second step, a chilling thought came into his mind. It hadn't occurred to him during the viewing, but…

"Just out of curiosity, Haru, for your work… Did my character and Louise ever come through in the end?" he managed to spit out and draw close for an answer.

Haru poked her head up enough to look at him, biting her lip before answering. "The writers, directors, and audience were always fond of seeing _our_ characters end up together. Even when the Baron and Louise become a couple, something always seemed to go wrong." She wiggled one hand out of her blanket cocoon to tick off a list on her fingers. "Louise dies in childbirth, she was killed like in the movie we watched earlier, sometimes she ends up betraying the Baron like the other one we watched, sometimes she's reincarnated into my character… I think making your character a junior was the closest to a happy ending Louise by herself ever got to keep, even if that usually left her a widow by the time the movie starts so that we could start calling your character 'Baron' right off the bat." She stopped and thought hard for a minute. "But there was one time she wound up with the Muta character. That was pretty adorable."

Baron couldn't fight back another laugh at the pairing. "So as long as she didn't interfere with _us_ , all was well with her?" he asked after regaining control of himself, hoping that his oldest friend wouldn't hear of his mirth.

She gave him a sad smile and patted his arm. "They're just stereotypes, Baron. No need to confuse characters with the actors playing them." The brunette then saddened and lowered her gaze to the ground. "I've had a lot of Baron actors start mixing up what was real or not. Then they get angry at me for not being… interested in a real relationship. It's why I was a little relieved that you used to keep your distance."

' _Child. Nearly twelve year old child. In a young woman's body.'_ Still, he had to know. "What was your father's ruling? It was _his_ dream, after all."

Haru blushed with embarrassment. "Dad was always firm in the belief that while the Baron and Louise were made for each over, they were never really _meant_ for each other. If that makes sense. In his notes, he… sketched a kiss between our characters, with Louise respecting it."

Just like Yuki's memory had stated. That is, about Louise' opinion on the pairing!

"Out of all the characters he came up with, the one he loved talking about the most was yours. He never did stop telling me that… well, hope springs eternal." It was only then Haru was able to look up and smile at him. "I guess for me, the characters are Dad's Creations, and as long as I get to see them… it's almost like having him here again. I hope this explains why seeing so many tall cats cheers me up this much."

Baron could only shake his head in self-disgust. "Just how in halibut's name did you _keep_ yourself from snapping my bones like twigs?! I'd have earned it!"

"Let's just say I had more than one reason to keep pranking Drac. It helped relieve my tension, and I was pretty certain he was the biggest reason you detested me. But I'll freely admit that I sometimes fantasized about beating you and Renaldo senseless," she was able to say through a sheepish smile. "I had to remind myself more than once that if I ever got the chance to tell you why I was holding back, you'd be so busy kicking yourself that I wouldn't have to lift a finger."

"An accurate assumption," he muttered miserably, rubbing one hand against his forehead to distract himself from the guilt. With a start, he realized that she was gripping his other wrist with a sleepy, understanding smile.

"Baron. I forgive you. Maybe it's time you forgave yourself. Whatever her reason was… make sure you have a better one, okay?"

He stared at her in shock. After nearly twelve years of his friends and sister giving him every motivational speech possible about letting go and moving on with his life… Haru had instinctively known exactly what he needed to hear. There was still pain, of course, but it was nothing compared to the past nearly twelve years. He managed a smile at her before covering her hand with his own.

"…You have the soul of a healer, Haru."

She froze at the compliment, taking a long moment before releasing her hold on him with a thoughtful smile. "Thank you. I don't want to be rude, but-" a yawn cut her off.

"Rest well, my friend," he bid, lowering the lights before exiting the room. He gave a cursory tip of the hat to Robert before jogging back to his own room.

He would not be getting sleep tonight. Not until his curiosity was quenched.

Baron placed his gloved hands on his wardrobe, whispering and concentrating until grey mist began seeping through the cracks. Smiling with satisfaction, he opened the door inward instead of outward, stepping confidently into a living room he had seen before. Closing the closet behind him, he indulged himself by turning on the lights to more fully explore the seemingly humble home.

He had been too distracted by his niece the first viewings, but now that he was letting himself see all, he inspected the spun yarn sitting next to the spinning wheel in wooden bobbins. "She may not be the best spinner, but she at least holds her own!" he exclaimed, even if it would have been more fitting to give up on shock at this point.

It's little wonder that Yuki barely blinked whenever her mother was involved in something. Even Drac had been careful at first to severely limit 'his sister's options. A suppressed chuckle flooded Baron's veins at realizing how little even 'the little brother' was prepared for her improvisational skills. Or at least understanding when he had truly crossed a line with her patience.

Shaking his head away from thoughts of the horrid rat, he stepped down to the second floor and pressed on the necessary screw head to make the staircase rise heavenward.

Baron eyed the first door a little warily as he past it, not that interested in getting electrocuted again after that storm in his own world the year before. Yet he couldn't resist entering the next door, even with knowing that it wasn't the proper one.

The music room. He carefully listened for spy cameras, but it looked like his little niece had already ensured the visit would be completely private. "Thank you, Yuki," he breathed, heading straight for the portrait he had seen in that second movie, hanging up right next to the little glass room.

… It was a slightly artistic version of himself, there was no questioning it. The way he was sitting, his peculiar way of holding that teacup while reading at the same time… How in the blazes could the man have known that Humbert once preferred that lighter shade of grey?!

The only thing he didn't recognize was the name of the book in that painted hand. "Pride and Prejudice," he said aloud, cementing the name to his mind in case it proved to be a good read later on. _'She won't be back to retrieve this.'_

Deciding that he rather liked this portrait, he eased it off the nail and opened a small portal to set it on his favorite reading chair back in his home world. It was a red high back chair almost exactly like the one in the painting. "I can beg her for forgiveness after we all come clean."

Since there wasn't much else of interest in the room, he let himself out and took the next set of stairs.

"Oh my," he muttered under his breath, not quite certain if he could be impressed or terrified. He stepped carefully around boxes and shelves overflowing with fiber and sewing supplies in order to slowly migrate his way over to the large counter Haru had told him about. Carefully easing a set of drawers aside, the cat was able to pull out a hidden tote overflowing with…

He expertly handled the fabric between his gloved fingers, studying the expert stitches. There was a strange warmth to them, one that wasn't quite physical. Was he sensing Haru's love? Yuki had never been shy about stating her mum was warm, even though she had felt a bit cool when he was carrying her around for the viewing.

"I can let Haru show me this," he decided, opening a portal to his room at Drac's castle and sliding the tote next to his bed after making sure that the smaller box of sewing supplies was still nestled within the folds of the pastel fabric. With another long glance around the studio, he decided to just levitate himself out and close the door to avoid stepping on anything Haru would regret having broken. "But never again will I call Mother's sewing room 'disorganized'."

This next floor would definitely prove the most challenging, but at least he was somewhat prepared that this would be the messiest room of all. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

The 'treasure' room bore a resemblance to a tower room his family used for storage. That room had been one of his favorites growing up, since it was impossible to predict what he would find. Feeling like a small child again, Humbert took his time inspecting everything he could get his hands on.

A small wooden comb engraved with cherry blossoms.

A faux-worn wedding ring of oak.

A glass pin shaped and colored like a leaf, pinned to a crocheted white scarf that still faintly smelled of vanilla and lavender.

Baron left off inspecting a small glass ball that could pop into two pieces to stare at the long glass-covered shelf with an army of mostly cat dolls lined up like soldiers. "I guess this is the doll collection Yuki mentioned," he stated while thanking his lucky stars that none of his home world admirers had a collection like this.

Haru at least had the excuse that she had no idea that he was a real person. But he still had to let out an impressed whistle at the glass shelves above and below the dolls, nearly crammed with gleaming trophies.

There! Against that wall!

Baron carefully maneuvered close enough to inspect the series of sturdy metal trunks carefully stacked in the back of the room. He tested one hand against one of the top ones, intimidated by the weight within. "She _must_ have had help setting these down here," he muttered to himself, not interested in taking chances with the ladder in the corner.

Haru had told him which of the identical trunks held the notes, as well as recommending that at least two Moon siblings be the ones to drag the precious contents back.

Deciding that he had enough space, he opened a larger portal to the room next to his own in Drac's castle, and began the slow process of loading _all_ the trunks into it with his magic so that he would not have to move any of them again.

The task took longer than he would admit to later, and he had to rest for a good half hour to recover his strength.

"If it will please her, I can send them to my world after inspection and come back for the rest of this after everything is sorted out," Baron decided, following the last trunk through the portal before closing it. Feeling a bit like a kitten on New Year's morn, the lord knelt in front of a random trunk, using a trace of magic to remove the lock completely.

It seemed promising, filled with thick binders just short from bursting open with laminated papers. He reached for a top one, but was distracted by a golden envelope inside a plastic sheet taped to the inside of the trunk lid.

It may as well have had 'READ ME' scrawled on it.

Baron wasted no time slipping the golden envelope out and reading the laminated paper within.

 _My dearest Haru,_

 _Please forgive the shakiness of my hand. I am merely fortunate that I talked myself into writing this before a dictation was necessary. I don't think I could bear to let another overhear what I have always been too cowardly to say to your face._

Baron's blood chilled, making him hurriedly fold the paper again. "I know the opening of a love letter when I see one." He ordered his hand to put it back in the golden envelope… but it didn't obey. His thumb was trailing alongside the edge, teasing the letter to open again.

"No!" he snapped, throwing the letter into the trunk. "No true gentlecat looks at a love letter not intended for himself or is not the author!"

Unless they had permission or the owners were dead, of course.

' _But who wrote it?'_ his traitorous mind whispered.

"It doesn't matter!"

' _Yuki says her mum's only ever had Louis for a 'love', and there is little chance that it's from him. Who could matter to her enough to preserve a love letter in such a way that it couldn't be lost in whatever else is in the trunk?'_

"How is that **my** business?" the lord snapped, slamming the trunk shut.

' _You weren't this reluctant in reading what Louise and Neal wrote.'_

"That was different!" he protested, just now remembering to lock the door from the inside and cast a muffling spell to ensure no one knew he was using this room.

' _What if her father_ _ **did**_ _see you in a vision? Haru has no romantic yearnings thanks to what she is, yet this letter is special to her. What if it could help you?'_

Baron had no choice but to materialize a thick pillow into one hand so that he could scream into it, since a muffling spell was not the same as a muting spell. "Even if it's meant to be, I will not stoop low enough to use another tom's words to woo her!"

' _Just the name, then. Perchance you will recognize it, or at least be able to track the fellow down.'_

"It's not my business," he tried again, much weaker as his hand seemed to open the trunk of its own accord.

' _There is no harm in reading a name. Go on. She will learn Louise was once for you, it's likely she will tell you this name anyway.'_

"I despise my weakness," the tawny cat muttered tiredly, opening the letter again in a way that he could focus on the barely legible name at the bottom.

His jaw dropped. He blinked before scrutinizing the name a little more closely in case it was his mind playing tricks, but no. The identity was even clearer than before the first glance but… this was _beyond_ improper!

There was no reining in his curiosity now! He hurriedly flattened out the letter to start where he had left off, sitting on the trunk next to the open one.

"What shark incident?" Baron couldn't keep himself from asking after a few minutes, his eyes still glued to the shaky handwriting.

"She has not disappointed you," the cat informed the writer as if he were in the room.

He couldn't resist the slightly evil chuckle emerging from his furry lips after a rather pointed paragraph about Drac. "That explains why she hasn't bothered wondering what you would think of the maiming."

Baron's mirth ran out at the next paragraph, his blood running cold at the word 'healer'.

He finally lowered the letter, staring off at the wall opposite him. It hadn't been his imagination about their portrait, after all. Haru could be oblivious when she set her mind to it, yet she had been able to see the truth about her adoptive father's feelings for a good portion of their time together.

How could the man have done such a thing? To force himself to take on an unwanted role and be satisfied with only that? To be fair, he was one of the few men that Haru had spoken of favorably, not to mention the most favorably, but _how_? He set aside the letter to rub his temples at the thought of _Louise_ telling him 'You're like a father to me.'

His eyes snapped open in shock. Help with her business as well as scolding her for neglecting her books and records. Reminding her when to come in for tea or meals. Moving forward with plans for her future without any true consultation simply because it was his right and it didn't occur to him that she might have wanted something else-

"I _was_ her father!" he gasped, nearly falling off the trunk in horror. "She wrote of me as an authority figure instead of a suitor!"

The one thing he had never noticed in those books until now! Yes, now that he was running through the memories, there were times when there was no difference between how he treated his sister and fiancée!

He swayed in his seat, breathing heavily into one gloved hand. _'Just… how much of our relationship was in my head?'_

It was all he could do, to just sit and think about Louise, and what Haru had said about the pairing.

Made for each other, but not _meant_ for each other.

He couldn't help but breathe a heavy sigh as he finally allowed himself to see it. Their businesses complimented each other, they got along well enough and respected each other… but what about the spark his mother had told him about?

She said it had been gradual for her and his father, and it had only been realized after a whole year of courtship, but Baron had a good twelve years to find a spark with his second cousin.

Twelve years that he had wasted chasing nearly everything that wasn't Louise. He looked down, a bit surprised to see that he was holding the love letter to his heart in a firm but gentle grip.

If the man had enough magic for a future vision… there had clearly been much he hadn't seen, to have such a favorable opinion of Humbert.

Unless… the man had seen farther still into the future?

Baron carefully considered the idea of courting Haru. The king owed him enough favors for her current 'condition' to not be a permanent problem once she admitted to her heritage, but…

She was a friend, now. He was beyond lucky to have been gifted that much, he was aware of that. He bit on his lower lip thoughtfully, letting his mind return to how happy his movie counterparts were with Haru, who seemed to more or less play variations of herself for her roles. It would be a _miracle_ to feel that happy again. He could feel his heart pound longingly but tried to keep his focus on the current dilemma.

He took in long measured breaths, doing his best to weigh out the pros and cons concerning the one raising his niece to be a true lady.

"Except she's admitted that the other barons she's worked with have tried a courtship. Over _fifty_ of them, never mind the number of suitors for her to brush off proposals from complete strangers as if they were flies! What could I possibly offer or say that she hasn't heard a million times or more?!" the orange cat couldn't keep from lamenting.

' _You could tell her you're not wearing a costume.'_

"I bet she's heard that one as well," he snapped at his own thoughts. "Doubtful they were telling the truth, but I'm willing to bet she'll be more impressed when I give her solid proof of the fact. But I would like to…"

' _Ah ha! I heard that!'_

He groaned and buried his face into one hand, still holding the letter to his heart. "Fine. She has my attention. Satisfied?"

That little voice didn't speak again, but there was something unbearably smug about the following silence.

Taking in a deep cleansing breath, he gave the matter long and proper thought. _'I don't have to court Haru. If she and I are able to counteract Drac's plans, she'll be living in my castle either way. Yuki doesn't know the first thing about keeping her ancestral estate, and while I wouldn't put it past Haru to know, she'd agree with me about keeping the kitten close to family while she is growing up. I guess it comes down to whether or not I want her as a wife or honorary family.'_

It could have been hours that he sat there, thinking over the question. He thought about their interactions, both good and bad. He thought about the moment when it became apparent that _she slew a hydra without an ounce of magic_ for someone she could have left to die, and he wouldn't have blamed her for the escape. He looked down at his arms, remembering how it felt to hold her. She had been slightly cool to the touch, like a healing balm, and her weight had been surprisingly comfortable cradled against him. After the initial reaction, she hadn't even seemed that displeased with the arrangement.

Baron thought she was more pleasing when she didn't hide her scars the same way he loved the battle scar on his late father's chin. It was a mark of bravery, proof of a refiner's fire from a time that could only leave one changed forever. Though, as he ruefully remembered all the scars he had seen peeking through the rips of her dress while breaking the director into pieces, Haru seemed to be more acquainted with a refiner's volcano.

' _She has never been one to do things halfway, has she?'_

There was no telling how much time had passed before he finally allowed himself to voice his decision. "I have at least five months until Drac heals up enough to run interference again. That should be plenty of time to see for myself if we are as compatible as Yuki and James think, regardless of what else I find in these trunks. There is no need for me to jump to conclusions." Sending the precious letter to where he was still hiding the love record he hadn't given Yuki, he pulled out a binder at random to begin perusing.

The first thing he saw was a carefully preserved newspaper clipping with a photograph of Haru slipping a long dagger into the jaw of a genuine _tyrannosaurus rex_! While it was roaring at her and clawing up her waist!

Not that she was registering the pain. As usual.

"Come now, this is getting ridiculous!" he snapped while unfolding and reading through the article. "What's next, she's also slain the distant descendant of Medusa?! How about a sea monster?! She never said she hasn't killed a vampire!"

Then he blinked and resumed reading with more focus. "On second thought, I'd best not set myself up to be proven right about my previous statements."


	29. Got To Offer

A/N; Other than the Birthday Bash in June, you don't have to worry about me being unable to upload this story anymore. I finished it on Tuesday this week. Started it on Christmas 2015, and just now got it done. Still in a bit of shock about it. I was starting to think it would never get done.

 **Chapter Twenty-Nine: Got to Offer**

 _Robin: Besides, what have I got to offer her?_

 _Little John: Well, for one thing, you can't cook._

 _-Disney's 'Robin Hood'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Timothy looked over the stomach wounds with approval before he started covering them up with new healing balm, applied thickly with a special paintbrush to keep it off his fur. "You may not heal as quickly as the lord, my lady, but at this rate, you'll be back on your feet in another two or three months."_

" _Mm hmm," she responded, distractedly rubbing down Toby's stomach while he whimpered in appreciation._

 _The old doctor, endlessly grateful that he could keep his true grey form for the check-up on his patient, finished painting the balm onto her bare hide and picked up the first fresh bandage to start wrapping her up once more. "I heard from Herald that you are skilled enough with a sword for my lord to want a proper duel, but I would strongly suggest waiting an extra month for such an activity. The last thing any of us would want is for you to over-exert yourself and wind up in bed again."_

" _Reasonable." She raised her arms so that he could more easily do his job, but otherwise didn't really react._

 _Though the little beast was back on his feet and begging to be petted again._

" _Don't be surprised if Hilary arranges for this match to be public for the court as well. My lord is quite the favorite at tournaments, you know," the old doctor confided with a smile._

" _That would explain why he tried to fight the hydra as an opponent instead of a gladiator," Haru noted clinically, still keeping her hands up. "He's used to a fair fight."_

 _Timothy gave her a startled look before pinning the long bandage into place. "I understand if you're still upset about the hydra, my lady, but really, you exceeded all expectations just by surviving the encounter."_

 _Her eyes were glazed over slightly, almost like a doll's as she automatically answered. "Yep. That's me all right. I exceed expectations every day."_

 _If only she didn't sound so depressed over the fact!_

 _Reminding himself that this female could easily become his lord's lady in due time, he stopped short of unwrapping her shoulder to face her with a stern expression. "What's troubling you? There was much more cheer in your tone when I visited you yesterday."_

 _She tried to shake off her depressed mood and give him a shaky smile. "It's nothing."_

" _Clearly, if it's troubling you, it's couldn't be nothing. Come now, you can tell me," Timothy tried to coax gently, but she was now giving all her attention to massaging Toby's long flappy ears as his tail wagged hard enough to shake the lower half of his body._

" _I'm just being foolish. I'll get over it," she muttered half-convincingly under her breath._

" _My lady, please. What is the problem?"_

 _The brown hair cuddled the little beast closer, looking ashamed of herself through her dark mood. "It's… just… this is the first time since meeting Yuki that I haven't known at least the general vicinity of where she is."_

 _Timothy's eyes widened, but now that the topic was touched, there was no holding her back._

" _I know it's stupid because my gut instinct screams that I can trust Sonya, Renaldo's with her too, and I know he loves her, and Baron wouldn't have given the lessons his approval if he had any doubts about Yuki's safety around Sonya and there were so many babysitting offers in the flower cards from his other friends for when, not 'if', Drac does something stupid enough for me to have to kill him which means that afore-mentioned friends are probably rolling out the red carpet for her, but that doesn't change the fact that she's my baby and it's mostly been just my daughter and I until this year and I don't know what I'd do if anything were to happen to her other than splitting guilty parties down the middle with my bare hands."_

 _The old cat doctor had few doubts about the threat's validity, but he was plenty impressed that she had managed to say all that in one breath._

 _Haru then seemed to wilt like a flower with a miserable expression. "But I always wind up regretting it when I don't pay attention to my gut instincts. So instead of panicking and demanding her back, all I can do is… deal with the fact that my snow angel's growing up."_

' _The one thing you_ _ **can't**_ _do,' he couldn't resist thinking in sympathy._

" _I'm sorry for unloading all this on you," she apologized under her breath, snapping her fingers to encourage Toby to come to her other side for more belly rubs and to keep him out of the old doctor's way._

 _He bit back a laugh and resumed her treatment by unwrapping her shoulder. "Don't be, my lady. All you're proving is that you love your daughter."_

" _More than anything," Haru sighed, sounding a little less depressed than before. "Timothy? With a promise never to tell Baron what you say… what are your thoughts about the arrangements for Yuki?"_

 _After pulling off the bandage, the old grey hair took care to place himself where he could look her dead in the eye. "I don't care who you repeat my opinion to, my lady. There is_ _ **nothing**_ _that will prepare the little lady for what's ahead better than letting Sonya take your daughter under her wing." A wicked little smirk burst out of his control as well as a chuckle, fighting back against his internal screaming at speaking of the queen so informally._

" _And I can assure you that her son will take special care to make Yuki feel right at home."_

xxXxx

Yuki stared at herself in the large mirror in the Cat Queen's personal sitting room, poking and prodding her own face in complete disbelief. A transformation talisman was around her neck, since a more permanent change would have been premature for their plans. She hadn't needed to be told to wear 'cat' attire, so the kitten was indistinguishable from any other young noble resident of the feline world. She couldn't resist experimentally swishing her new tail around, just for the odd sensation of it.

"You look identical to your mother at that age," Sonya informed her a little wistfully from her place on a nearby couch, holding a jewel-encrusted small chest in her lap. "She mostly preferred to keep to herself at court functions, but there was no denying that her manners were impeccable. I was looking forward to growing closer with her."

The child nodded, feeling her cat ears and pulling a bit on one of her whiskers to ensure that she really was studying her own reflection. After another long moment, she managed a laugh. "It's a good thing we're not letting Mom see me like this yet. She'll never let me look like a human again."

The Cat Queen beamed at her before turning her attention to Renaldo. "Has Baron sent word yet?"

"No, my queen. All he said this morning was that he was not to be disturbed prematurely, though he didn't exactly turn down my breakfast tray. He sounded the way he usually does when he studies all night instead of catching some sleep, so he must have found something interesting in Drac Senior's notes."

"Grandpa's name was James," Yuki corrected with a disapproving frown.

A cheeky grin was the first answer. "Is it? Thanks, little lady."

Taking in a deep breath, Sonya opened the chest in her lap before offering the contents to the young girl. "While the test may be little more than a formality at this point, I'm afraid that it is still required, Yuki. Come and take what's in here."

Feeling a bit curious, the white kitten did as she was bidden, pulling out a large emerald a little smaller than her fist. She immediately yelped and threw it back in the chest. "It's _moving_!"

Sonya couldn't resist a laugh, possibly remembering her own reaction from years before. "That's normal, dear, it won't harm you. Go on, pick it up again."

It took a bit more coaxing than that, but Yuki eventually picked it up again. She grimaced as the jewel seemed to wiggle against her hold like a beating heart.

"Let it lie flat against your palm," Sonya instructed.

"It'll fall to the floor," Yuki predicted, but still did as she was told, holding it as far from herself as possible with one hand.

She was soon proven wrong. The emerald shuddered when it was finally given some free room to move, then shifted into a small green rabbit. Yuki gaped in complete surprise, keeping her arm outstretched so that the rabbit could hop up her arm and nuzzle her cheek happily.

"As suspected. If you weren't my son's intended, it would have stayed its original shape," the queen noted with a wide grin.

"I'm surprised that it didn't turn into a tiny Toby," Renaldo mentioned lightheartedly, gesturing for Yuki to put the rabbit back in the chest.

She did so with a lot more care than she had given taking it out, looking a bit disappointed that it turned back into a plain emerald as soon as her hand lost contact with it. "I liked rabbits long before I begged Mom for Toby."

"You know, I've been meaning to ask-" the queen began to inquire but was interrupted by a polite knock on the door.

They all turned to see a tall cat with different shades of grey fur over his head, cradling a thick clipboard close to him as if it contained the world.

Yuki tried hard not to laugh at how familiar the cat was after watching two of her mother's movies.

"I do not wish to intrude, your majesty," the servant- or, more likely, the advisor- said with the upmost respect. "But his majesty is… enthusiastically ordering the troops to train to Lady Haru's standards."

"There's _one_ way to wear them out," Yuki muttered under her breath.

"Precisely, your grace," the advisor agreed, making the queen groan unhappily.

"I don't have so much time with Yuki that I can afford to waste it convincing my husband that I doubt Lady Haru began her training with enough vigor to exhaust an army!"

"With your permission, I can fetch his highness? I'm sure he'd be delighted to give her grace a tour of the palace, so that her time with us will still be used wisely." He said it casually, but it was clearly what he wanted to do.

Yuki felt a terrible pit in her stomach as her cheeks turned red underneath her fur.

"That is an excellent suggestion, Nathaniel. Please fetch him at once. You'll get along with Lune just fine, dear," the Cat Queen promised, patting the white kitten comfortingly as the tall tom bowed out of the room. "He despises court mannerisms, so you will have no trouble speaking to him."

"Great," she responded with a weak smile. "Would you mind telling the king that he'll save the troops a lot of hassle if he sends a general to just talk to my mom? She says she had to learn a lot of things the hard way, and she won't mind sharing her tricks if monsters like the hydra are more common over here."

"Baron _did_ retrieve the hydra from somewhere, dear. I'll pass this on," the queen promised, giving a swift lick to Yuki's forehead before she left her and Renaldo.

The kitten smiled while rubbing the spot. "Knowing I'm not the only one that licks instead of kisses makes me feel a lot better."

"Didn't Haru ever find that odd?" Renaldo asked curiously. "I know it's not a common habit for humans."

Yuki gave an indifferent shrug with a reminiscing smile. "She just calls me a goofball when I do it. But I'm pretty sure that she'd kill Drac if _he_ tried it."

Her large bodyguard scratched one ear thoughtfully. "I wonder if it's a common thing with whatever she is."

She didn't bother sharing in the curiosity. "We'll find out after all this is over. She did promise I could have whatever I want if this works."

A loud set of feet stampeded toward the open door within minutes, revealing a panting prince leaning heavily against the doorframe. His head raised slightly to look at her, a smile appearing from seeing her feline form.

Yuki felt her insides tense up, noticing that the dark tom was a good three heads taller than her.

"M-My… apologies, for the wait… may I call you Yuki?" Prince Lune asked, once he was able to catch his breath and look up at her with a nervous smile closing the distance between them in mere seconds.

' _I had forgotten his eyes were two different colors.'_ "Yes, please. Is Lune all right?" Her own voice was very soft in comparison to his, and she didn't quite look him in the eye.

" _More_ than all right," he assured her with a wide grin, daring to come close enough to offer her an arm. "Shall we then?"

Yuki tried not to bite her lower lip from nerves now that she had sharpened teeth, and hesitantly placed her hand on the prince's arm. _'This is so_ _ **awkward**_ _,'_ she groaned inwardly.

The next hour was fairly long, at least to her. The crown prince showed her ballrooms, gardens, and introduced her to a number of younger courtiers around their own ages. She had little trouble memorizing names and ranks, but…

"Is something wrong?" Lune asked, worriedly shooing away a servant that been kind enough to provide matching goblets full of some kind of fruit juice.

The smaller kitten looked down at her goblet, trying hard not to bite her lip from frenzied nerves. "I'm not used to meeting so many new people in one day."

He blinked in surprise but led her to a balcony before closing the large doors behind them.

The door immediately opened again long enough for Renaldo to slip through. "Haru will have my head if I don't stick with Yuki," he apologized, crossing his arms and leaning against the glass to keep out anyone else.

Lune nodded without comment before switching his gaze to the kitten in question. "We can stay here until you feel comfortable."

"That might take longer than today," she mumbled, setting her goblet on the balcony's marble railing so that she could take in the scenery instead of the prince.

There were faraway hills that reminded her of the mural her mother had painted for her. They were mostly yellow-green in the distance, though she could see telltale signs of orange and red since autumn was approaching here as well. If she squinted her eyes, she could faintly see a swaying motion as if from cattails greeting the gentle wind on this beautiful cloudless day. Much closer than that was the capital surrounding the palace, reminding her of pictures she had seen depicting cities from two hundred years ago. The only thing that seemed inaccurate about all the people bustling down the streets and calling to each other from open windows was that every person was a feline.

She tried to ignore the prince's presence at her side when he joined her but wasn't very successful.

"Would you like to go down there?" Lune asked as he noticed her interest. "There isn't time today, but I don't know if Mother will be able to soothe Father by tomorrow. He can be difficult to calm down once he has gained momentum for his enthusiasm."

"I'll need to at some point. But I doubt we'll be allowed to without a large armed escort," Yuki countered miserably as her mother's words rang through her memory again.

' _The royal family is considered the kingdom's most valuable treasure… you have to be used to always having body guards stalking you.'_

"… Am I the problem?" Lune asked nervously, making the kitten look at him with surprise.

"Well… yes and no," Yuki tried to explain while fidgeting nervously. She went ahead and bit her lip before asking him something. "Don't you _hate_ being told what to do?"

The crown prince gave a non-thinking shrug. "It's just a fact of life. I obey my parents, my teachers, our traditions and customs."

Yuki made a disappointed face. "So what do you do when you want to do something different?"

Lune led her to a stone bench and encouraged her to sit before answering. "The only times I've ever felt strongly enough to raise an objection, Mother usually does it for me. It's usually little squabbles with Father concerning this or that. I imagine you're familiar with that sort of thing," he tried to point out while sitting a proper distance from her.

She gave him a somewhat desperate look. "I think there's a huge difference between being told 'You _are_ going to brush your teeth before bed', and 'You _are_ going to marry this person when you grow up'."

He blinked, staring at her before he started twiddling his thumbs. "… I suppose you _wouldn't_ have grown up with that kind of talk. Your mum doesn't seem like the type to, well-"

Arrange a marriage for her ten-year-old daughter.

Yuki fought back a laugh at the thought. "Definitely not. Mom's fond of saying I have better judgment than her, and she was the one that figured out that I'm a lie detector. I'm pretty sure that when I eventually give a care about romance, Mom's probably not going to do much more than give a tour of her armory and describe what she's washed off all her weapons." Then she paused. "That could take a few days. She won't talk to me about it yet, but I know she's slain a lot of monsters before crossing paths with me. That one policeman nearly wet his pants when he thought Mom was going to get angry with him," she giggled while Lune looked nauseated.

The dark heir turned away from her, breathing long and slowly into one glove for a whole moment before turning back to her. "If you plan on telling her anything about me before the truth comes out, be sure that it's that I saw what she did to the hydra. If that isn't enough to dissuade miscreants, I can't imagine what is."

"I probably won't mention you that much," Yuki admitted, deciding it would hurt him less if she was upfront about it. "Your mother understands why, I'll let her explain if she hasn't yet." _'I am_ _ **not**_ _going to tell him what Mom said about me marrying a prince!'_

Renaldo tried to cover his guffaws with a fist, making his charge scowl at him while shaking her head in warning.

Lune growled while crossing his arms in annoyance. "I hardly find it fair that truth seers can keep secrets but deny others the privilege."

"It's not like _I'm_ poking around your privacy," Yuki defended hotly. "Besides, since when is life fair?"

"Weren't you upset about forced obedience a moment ago?" the prince asked suspiciously.

She scowled, looking down at her boots, dangling a little off the ground since the bench was slightly tall for her.

That uncomfortable silence stretched on for a while.

Long enough to make the prince regret that last statement, it seemed. "You know, I've been puzzled on how your mother talked you into a dog for a pet," he somewhat hesitantly ventured when the silence had become too unbearable.

"Toby was _my_ idea," she corrected, finally taking back her goblet from the railing for a polite sip. "Mom once took me to a farm for a field trip, and one of Farmer Ted's dogs had given birth recently. Toby was the runt of the litter, and his siblings weren't letting him get milk from his mother." She bit her lip as bitter memories resurfaced. "Humans treated me the same way before I met Mom. A lot of human foods are bad for cats, but because no one knew what I was, I'd get treated like a burden for not wanting to poison myself. When Farmer Ted said that it might be kinder to kill the runt than let it starve or get beaten to death by the other puppies, I begged Mom for him. She's had dogs before, so she taught me how to feed him, train him, everything. Most dogs are horrible, but Toby would do anything for me." She dared to sneak a peek at the prince through the corner of her eye.

He seemed stunned. "So dogs _can_ be trained if they're young enough," he mused.

"And if they're treated well. If Toby doesn't sense anything wrong with you, a few scratches on the ears will turn him into jelly," she giggled.

"Or playing fetch with him," Renaldo added with a chuckle. "There's no end of amusement watching him run after a stick or ball." But then he stopped, suddenly looking serious. "How did Haru find out about your food problems again?"

Yuki tapped her chin in thought, resting her goblet on the railing again. "It wasn't from a doctor, I remember that much. She was really nice while getting to know me and gave me a lot of free rein over meals. As long as it was healthy, Mom didn't care what I ate. She has a much bigger sweet tooth than me, but she rarely indulges herself if I'm not interested in whatever cake or cookie she has her eye on. Mom knew enough to donate all the hazardous food from her pantry to a homeless shelter shortly after bringing me to the Refuge, so it didn't take her long to figure things out."

"If you don't care for sweets, what does your mum do for your birthday cake?" Lune asked curiously.

"Well, you _have_ to make an exception for birthday cake," Yuki laughed. "She can't make it without a mix- I mean, flour and eggs like Renaldo can, but she tries. Heaven knows she tries."

Lune tried to bite back a smile before his expression grew thoughtful. "… Maybe, if you would like to," he ventured carefully. "You could bring Toby tomorrow?"

"You want to meet him?" Yuki asked, feeling more than a little surprised.

His answering smile was a little weak. "I don't care for canines, but it appears he and I will at the very least need to get used to each other's presence. I don't think I would fancy getting into a rivalry with him."

Yuki hid a giggle behind her hand. _'I don't think I need to tell him he'd lose.'_ "That's probably a good idea. But I'll keep him on a leash, just in case."

"In case of what?" the prince asked worriedly.

"In case there's someone in your walls he hates as much as Drac. He tried to maul that rat on first sight."

"It would have been a civic service," Lune grumbled under his breath before shaking off his darkened mood. "Do you think you're ready to see more?"

Yuki gave a longing glance to the rolling landscape beyond his capital, and inwardly promised herself that she would bully Aunt Hiromi into taking her out there. "I think so, yes."

ooOoo

The king's top general stared at the faux-human with chagrin. "That is a _morbid_ thing to discuss with your father figure!"

Lady Haru only shrugged with one shoulder, her reminiscing smile turning wry as she kept herself covered to her chin in blankets, as per Healer Timothy's instructions. "I'm morbid sometimes. When I was a teenager, I was forced to kill rats in neighbors' basements when they didn't want to hire a professional. It wasn't like I was mindlessly talking about how to kill a rabid animal. Strength's pretty useful, but speed and precise aim is what usually wins my fights. I'm sure Dad wouldn't have been that shocked that it took **both** of our theories to take that beast down, plus outside help. That Hercules movie was pretty cheesy, but at least it and the random discussion with Dad got me mentally ready to challenge a hydra."

The tall, well-built woman could only shake her head as she took in the Nothing's appearance. Every time she had seen a feline with a build that slim in the military, regardless of gender, they had been serving as a healer or a cook. If she hadn't seen this little thing in action herself, she would never have believed such a feat was possible.

"So yes, slitting the base throat's a slow way to drown a hydra in its own blood, but it's a smarter start than trying to cut off heads. I mean, that's _begging_ for trouble, even if I had somehow gotten a weapon that could have cut through the spinal cords," Haru laughed, one eye on the lieutenant that was furiously scribbling her every word into his notes from the corner of her bed.

"That is a fair point," General Rebecca replied numbly, doing her best not to start retching. It was one thing to be forced to kill the enemy, but she was used to a fair fight, not to mention delivering swifter deaths. Taking in a deep breath, she forced herself to stop pacing long enough to lock eyes with the lady. "There's been a heavy deliberation on what was in the vial you threw down one of the mouths," she stated with a hopeful expression.

"Jalapeño juice," Haru answered promptly with a wicked grin.

The brown tabby lieutenant that had been scribbling her words stopped and looked up with a puzzled expression. "Jalapeño?"

She blinked in surprise. "You don't have those in your dimension? Oh well. Jalapeños are extremely hot peppers that burn more coming out than they do going in, and they feel even worse on open wounds." Her expression turned a little smug. "I was going to slip it into Drac's fancy imported water for a new prank."

 _Both_ cats lost their composure over her dastardly jest.

"If I had known ahead of time that he was going to make me fight a hydra, I'd have gotten another bottle of it and poured it down _his_ throat," she growled angrily. "He's done hand to hand combat before, he should have **known** how stupid his plan was!"

"… I… I am sorry, that he was not who you needed him to be," the general was able to pant, since Haru's anger was enough to distract her from the unexpected humor.

The brown hair took in a deep cleansing breath. "Yeah, well, he introduced my daughter and I to Baron, so he's at least still being useful. Ish."

General Rebecca was a bit surprised at how highly the faux-human was placing the introduction. Not because it wasn't important, mind, but because even without knowing about the kitten's destiny or her blood ties to the baron, the girl still had somehow… _sensed_ that the meeting held importance.

Then, taking a needed breath of courage, she finally asked the question that she had volunteered to meet Lady Haru for.

"You were aware from the beginning that even a demi-god needs assistance with slaying a hydra."

Noticing that a corner of the blanket had fallen, Lady Haru managed to tuck it back into place with stiff limbs. "Of course. I used to sneak reading myths and fairy tales every chance I got before running away, and I haven't exactly stopped reading them since."

Rebecca pressed forward, _needing_ the answer to this statement. "Which means that you were aware of the possibility that you wouldn't succeed in saving the Baron's life. You didn't know that help was coming."

Lieutenant Gisborn stopped writing about the jalapeños, becoming perfectly still to ensure that he didn't miss a single word.

The brown hair gave her a long look, tilting her head almost as if in amusement. "You say that like it's supposed to be a deterrent."

Rebecca's mouth fell open in horror.

"The one thing that marks me as different from all my genetic relations is that I can't run from trouble. Not when I was facing someone that would punish me for daring to exist, or someone willing to 'fix' the problem. The closest I've ever been able to manage is a tactical retreat to a more favorable position. You of all people should understand the difference. Since I am physically incapable of running to safety, I learned how to charge. Don't tell Baron. It might hurt his feelings if he finds out I just pick fights with monsters if they go after someone that can't fight back, regardless of whether I know the person or not. I don't start thinking of such specifics until after I'm doctoring my wounds or get blackmailed into letting someone else doctor me." Then she stopped and thought things over like she had forgotten about the two cats gaping at her.

"You're _mad_ ," the general whispered in horror.

Lady Haru actually laughed over the statement, wiggling one hand loose from the bedcovers to wipe away a tear of mirth. "As if I don't call myself that on a regular basis, never mind the critics. But look on the bright side; my madness kept Baron from becoming an appetizer, and now you know why I refuse to serve in a military. I'll take about any punishment if I think I have a good enough reason for disobedience."

The lieutenant nearly swooned in horror, shaking his head badly enough to make his neck start making cracking sounds. "I-I don't think… you're the best judge on what will offend the Baron."

"There, you see?" Haru pointed to him with a smile. "I knew _someone_ would eventually say something new."

Harold politely knocked on the door before poking his head in. "Timothy's here with your afternoon tonic, my lady, as well as Julia with Toby."

Haru looked sulky at the word 'tonic', but otherwise kept her peace. "Please send them in. Was there anything else you want to discuss, General Yates?"

Rebecca didn't need to see the sternness in the healer's gaze to make her decision. She got to her feet and gave the brown hair a crisp bow. "I think this will be enough for our current needs, though I hope you won't mind if I seek further counsel as the training progresses."

"Of course not. You know where to find me," she replied in resignation as the little dog hopped onto the bed with a happy bark.

Lieutenant Gisborn made to follow his superior out the door, but then stopped short, hesitated a second, and then turned back to the sick bed. "About the jalapeño juice, Lady Haru?"

"Jalapeño juice?" Julia asked as she joined the bedside, but the brown hair waved off the question while giving the military cat her full attention.

Other than one hand to keep the little beast happy.

Taking in a deep breath, the younger military cat continued. "There is a certain leaf in our dimension that is quite delicious if there is barely a trace of it in carefully prepared food. But if there is more than just a trace, there are… _long-standing_ effects. Most cooks are too afraid to use it as a result."

"John!" Julia gasped in horror. "Why are you telling her about hefla?!"

Haru cocked an eyebrow but managed to lean closer to hear more with a slowly emerging smirk.

He kept going, now that he had her undivided attention. "The effects are not noticeable at first, but after six hours, hefla leads to sleep deprivation, diarrhea, and splitting headaches. The more severe cases include aches and pains. It is not uncommon for effects to last for a month. Of course by the end of it, you're as weak as a newborn _if_ you have someone that's been keeping up with taking care of you."

Lieutenant Gisborn almost wished that he had kept his mouth shut when an _evil_ chuckle began to bubble from her lips through a wicked grin. It was even bad enough to make Timothy and Julia take nervous steps back from the patient.

But fair was fair, after all.

"Who do I have to bribe to get my hands on hefla?" she asked eagerly.

"My lady!" Timothy reprimanded sharply. "Who are you planning to poison?"

"Well, let me think about it. Who do I hate enough to put out of commission when he's eventually going to be able to make a nuisance of himself?" Lady Haru smirked wickedly.

Both healer and servant broke off looking at her in order to look at each other across the bed.

"… _I_ think he's earned it," Julia offered tentatively.

"It would be kinder to chop off his limbs," Timothy retorted with a shudder.

That made another wicked grin cross Lady Haru's lips. "This conversation keeps getting better and better!" she crooned, clearly imagining the maiming.

Timothy nibbled on his lower lip before lowering his muzzle to the faux-human's ear. "He'll know enough not to eat anything you could get to first. Let _us_ handle the details after he gets back to the castle."

"You see that, General? I'm getting spoiled right and left in this place!" she laughed happily.

"No, my lady. I can't reprimand what I didn't hear," Rebecca managed to say without so much as cracking a smile.

ooOoo

Lune stayed as stiff as a board the next day, his eyes locked on the little monster he had been told horror stories about since he was a small kitten. _'I hope she appreciates how much I want her to think kindly of me.'_

"Just breathe, your highness," Renaldo tried not to laugh as he supervised the two young ones. "You have attendants with more ire than that little dog."

"Okay, Toby," Yuki admonished, rubbing his back as he strained curiously against his leash toward the younger tom. "This is Lune. There's a good chance he's going to be sticking around me for a while, so try to like him, okay?"

The surprisingly small dog woofed once before licking her wrist, but he was still _very_ interested in closing the distance between him and the prince.

"Stay calm, Lune. He always gets your scent before deciding whether or not to like you. Unless you're Drac," the lovely white kitten laughed, carefully allowing just enough room on the leash so that her pet could start testing the prince's smell.

' _Please don't start barking,'_ Lune kept silently praying, never taking his eyes off the dog as he tried to work out what to do with him.

"Take off your glove and let him smell your hand," Yuki advised.

"What if he bites me?" Lune asked, displeased at how cowardly he sounded in front of his future wife.

Renaldo tried to stifle a laugh, but he wasn't very successful.

"If he wanted to, he would have tried by now. Just trust me, okay?" she pleaded, trying to hide her expression behind one hand.

"You have your uncle's smirk," the dark-furred prince noted, unwillingly removing his glove and kneeling so that he wouldn't have to stay bent over.

"You think so?" she asked in surprise.

"I know so. He usually wears that expression when I think I'm doing well with his lessons," Lune confessed as Toby sniffed over his hand for about a minute. He tried not to scream when that long tongue eventually decided to lick his fingers.

"Good, he's okay with you. Now start scratching his ears, and he'll adore you."

Still fighting his instinct to run, Lune decided to use both hands to start scratching the short brown and black fur, not just on the ears.

Although he would have been happier to never meet a dog, he _really_ wanted this one's approval.

It took no time at all for the dog to almost literally melt under his careful claws. Happy whimpers escaped his muzzle as his little body wiggled with appreciation.

"See? You're a natural with him if you stop worrying about it," the white kitten encouraged with a softer smile, kneeling next to him to also start scratching.

' _Will it be the same about my worries for you, Yuki?'_

ooOoo

" _Ooh_ , Haru! This is perfect!" Hilary gushed, standing in front of the vanity mirror as she pulled her new purple cowl over her triangular ears. "I just love it!"

"Glad to hear it," Haru replied, tossing another mulberry into the air.

Thomas swiftly flew across the room to catch the morsel in his mouth, cawing happily after he finished swallowing.

"Isn't that technically exercise, Mom?" Yuki asked from her chair by the window. She was reading her parents' little red book, which was why she wasn't cuddled up beside her mother. Toby was snuggled on her lap, sound asleep in one arm.

"Hey, I'm staying in bed, aren't I?" Haru asked, giving a small glare to the snug ropes holding her legs and bedcovers in place. "Unless Timothy decides to tie my arms as well, I can enjoy a little bit of movement. Just out of curiosity, Hiromi, what is your brother up to?"

"Up to?" she panicked, wheeling around with a nervous smile. "What makes you think he's up to something?"

Haru could only give her friend a flat look before tossing another berry for Thomas. "Since becoming friends with him, Baron's made a point of visiting me a bare minimum of once a day, but I haven't seen him in a week, plus he hasn't been taking his two hours with my girl. What did he do, decide to go after my notes himself? I'm surprised that Drac left enough elbow room in their contract for him to get away with it."

Yuki forced herself to keep her teeth clenched together. Now that she knew she couldn't lie, it was up to her aunt to distract her mother from her uncle's absence.

"A-Actually, he's been doing research on something," Hilary decided to answer truthfully. "I'm more than certain he's keeping tabs on your notes' travel rate, but he's still locked in his room. Renaldo's been having difficulty reminding him to eat."

The slight pink that had been returning to Haru's cheeks returned to chalk white. "He doesn't have a computer in there, does he?"

"Not to my knowledge, and he has little patience for them, anyway," Hilary did her best to soothe her friend.

Haru could only breathe a sigh of relief. "Then he isn't researching me, at least. How much longer do you think he'll be at it?"

Hilary could only give a tired sigh as she sat on the bed next to her. "I'm afraid I couldn't guess. Once Humbert gets his teeth into a subject, he's been known to neglect everything else until he knows the material backward and forward."

"Sideways?" Yuki smirked.

Hilary nodded with a small smirk. "If he's truly passionate about the subject, yes. I didn't see him for three months after he decided to study herbology. For his tea blends, you understand."

Haru could only giggle at that before Robert opened the door wide enough for Renaldo to carefully carry in a three-tiered cake.

Hilary could only gape as her niece did the same. She couldn't guess the flavor, but the careful construction and shades of cream and purple in the frosting were worthy to be presented to the royal family.

From the stunned expression on her friend's face, it was clear that Haru agreed. "Um, a small cake would have been fine, Muta. If I had known you were going to go _that_ fancy, I'd have asked you to wait until my birthday."

"Now you know why it took me a while to get everything I needed for it," he smirked, gently setting the gorgeous offering on the small table as Julia followed him with the appropriate plates and cutlery in a neat little basket.

"And why you only mentioned once when she was distracted that it was going to be so big?" his sister asked with a teasing smirk.

"Not my fault," he defended as he started cutting into the top layer of the cake. The choice for purple icing became clear as the large feline pulled out a slice that was nearly bursting with mulberries.

Thomas immediately came to rest on Haru's shoulder, breathing heavily in anticipation as he fought desperately not to drool.

"Easy there, tough guy," she laughed while rubbing his back with one hand. "You'll get a piece soon enough."

That made Renaldo flinch as he set the slice on the first plate but sighed in defeat before handing it to his sister so she could present it to the lady. "It's your cake, so I guess you get the final say in who helps you eat it."

" _So_ glad you agree," she drawled, making Hilary giggle helplessly as she stepped close enough to just _smell_ the beautiful confection.

But just as Julia handed Haru the first plate, the bed-ridden woman flinched with surprise before giving Renaldo a smirk.

"Why, you little trickster."

"Huh?" he asked, pausing halfway through cutting the second slice.

"You thought I wouldn't notice that there is no possible way for me to eat that large of a cake by myself. You _intentionally_ made it big enough so that I'd have to share it."

"Mom, you've tried to share a **cookie** with me before, remember?" Yuki sighed with a loving smile.

"That was a big cookie, and Muta didn't know about it." Haru dramatically used her free hand to make a tragic gesture against her forehead before using a slightly high-pitched voice to illustrate her point. " _Oh, however will I find enough gallant heroes to help me finish eating such a large cake before it has a chance to spoil?_ "

"Was that a call for volunteers?" Robert asked eagerly, opening the bedroom door to make himself audible.

A small nod from Haru was all he needed to come in, though he left the door open so he could still keep a lookout.

"That is _not_ why I made it this big!" Renaldo protested, quickly handing the next piece to Yuki. "I was incredibly rude to you before, and this is my apology!"

"Has he always been this easy to tease?" Haru giggled while looking at his smirking sister.

"Oh yes. Always. Thomas could tell you stories-" Julia suddenly cut herself off with horror.

"Just too much personality, Toto?" Haru asked the crow with a sly smile, making him shake off his nerves from the slip and manage a sarcastic caw and rub his body against her head with affection.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the brunette noticed nothing. By now Thomas had managed to communicate that he didn't mind Haru's pet name for him, so she didn't bother with correcting herself anymore.

But after a minute of savoring cake, Yuki remembered something. "Hey, Mom? What _was_ the significance of that cookie again? Those photographers went wild when you ate it."

Haru tried to swallow a mouthful before laughing. "Bruce knew they were going to call me out on changing my mind on adoption, so he had a baker write 'My words' in the icing. It made a great pun, and it got my point across."

Hilary's ears twitched excitedly at the insight, but luckily Haru was looking at her giggling child. "So what are you going to eat if you change your mind on romance?" she tried to ask casually.

The mirth left Haru's eyes, but at least she didn't shut down again. "On the extreme off-chance that happens, maybe the wedding cake. If some poor soul manages to catch _my_ heart, he'll pretty much have to have a healthy sense of humor. I don't think I could get caught by a stiff."

Hilary beamed, locked the information firmly in her mind for future use, and accepted the next slice of cake before Robert, who needed to return to his post. The brown cat in question gave a grateful bow before leaving the room, the plate of cake in one hand.

But right before he closed the door, he looked down the hall with surprise. "Oh! My lord! You're out and about!"

"Don't bother asking if he can come in," Haru informed him with a smile of bliss after finishing another bite. "You could open your own _bakery_ if you wanted to, Muta!"

"Too much paperwork, and too much regulation for my taste. I'd rather spoil family and friends any day," he countered with a smile, setting another slice on the table as far from the actual cake as possible. "The _little_ piece is yours, Thomas. Go for the cake itself, and I'll pluck you!"

The crow flew over, made a teasing circle over the cake like a vulture on the prowl to make his friend start yelling at him, but did settle himself on the back of a chair next to his own piece. Everyone else could only laugh at the familiar game between them.

It was then that Hilary's brother walked through the door that closed behind him. He looked nearly the same as he always did after an extensive study session; tired eyes, rumpled clothes, slightly unsteady pace as he made himself get used to walking again.

What was different, however, was the look he gave their new friend. It was… not that far off from the look he gave her when he woke up and realized that Haru had taken down a _hydra_ , just for him.

Hilary lowered her forkful of cake to better assess her brother's expression.

Perhaps that wasn't even the best way to describe the look. It somehow managed to go even deeper, as if he were worshipping a hero of legend with his eyes alone. The amount of disbelief at being in her presence was certainly the same.

Haru's eyes turned wide and horrified, as if _she_ were the one that could read minds. "Oh, _peanut brittle_! Baron, whatever it is you researched, it wasn't my idea!" she protested almost shrilly while shaking one hand like a madwoman. "It's just that things happen, there isn't time to formulate a plan, so I just do something about it since I've learned that help rarely comes when it's actually needed. That's the story of my life in a nutshell, I'm a magnet for trouble whether I like it or not, so… so stop looking at me like that!"

If anything, that look increased.

Hilary couldn't _wait_ to ask what was inspiring his increased attitude toward the faux human.

"… Cake?" Haru asked in a tiny voice and weak smile while holding out her half-eaten plate in an almost desperate gesture.

It was probably the most pathetic attempt at a distraction that either of the von Gikkingen siblings had ever witnessed.

Baron was eventually able to answer her, but it had nothing to do with the cake. "No, Haru. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop looking at you like this."


	30. Change of Heart

**Chapter Thirty: Change of Heart**

 _Dowager: Why the change of mind?_

 _Dmitri: It was more a change of heart._

 _-Don Bluth's 'Anastasia'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Haru could only sigh, now that she was sprawled over a familiar perch. Her top half was swinging slightly with every step her abductor took, and since he was nearly running into a house, she couldn't help but feel like a pendulum. "Dad? You're my best friend and everything, but how many more times are you going to throw me over your shoulder until you learn how to say 'please come with me?' At this rate, I'm not going to react at all if a real kidnapping happens."_

" _My apologies, dearest, but that would have taken too much time," her large abductor responded excitedly as he ran up the stairs and into his study._

 _It was filthier than Haru had ever seen before, with papers scattered thickly enough to carpet the floor, the walls, and especially the large desk. She rubbed her middle happily when her large friend finally set her on her feet so that he could lock the door. "I'm surprised you let yourself go this far, Dad. It looks like a paper mill threw up in here."_

" _Careful where you step," he warned, kneeling down to gently gather enough papers so that neither of them had to step on any of them. "I wouldn't want to jeopardize your future."_

 _Haru cocked an eyebrow at him, but also started gathering papers._

 _One in particular caught her eye, making her stop in her tracks as she gave the paper a long look. "That could be interesting. Is this idea going to be for a cartoon or live action? We'll need Jim Henson to do these cats justice, you know."_

" _Believe me, I plan on contacting him as soon as I have you convinced," James assured her, gathering even more papers off a couch so that she had a place to sit._

' _Why can't everyone be as thoughtful as him?' Haru couldn't keep from wishing as he carefully escorted her to the seat with an exhausted but exultant smile._

" _Are you comfortable, dear? We're going to be here a while once I get started."_

 _Haru nodded, giving him a soft smile even though she was worried by his erratic behavior. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that my little brush with the cat left an impact on you."_

 _He barked a strange laugh at that. "Perhaps. Or it was just the trigger to something bigger." He searched through the papers on his desk until finding one that he had taken the time to color. He handed her the paper with a smirk._

" _Allow me to introduce… your soulmate."_

xxXxx

Timothy was no stranger to unruly patients. The noble family he served were particularly noted for their inability to stay still long enough for the healing process to take its full effect. He had thought for years that if he could keep the _von Gikkingens_ from prematurely stepping out of bed, he could handle even one of the king's outbursts.

He did not, however, count on meeting Lady Haru.

Not even two seconds after his fingers left the complicated knot on her ropes, the lady was able to seemingly slip a dagger out of nowhere and cut herself loose.

"Do you have _any_ idea how many times I've been tied up?" the brown hair asked him tiredly, keeping the weapon in one hand as she began throwing off the bedcovers.

The old healer had to rush in order to prevent this newest escape. "Really, Lady Haru! Just one more month before you put stress on your stitches. Try starting another knitting project," he all but begged.

"Maybe I will, _after_ a walk around the halls. Julia keeps carrying me like a ragdoll when I need the bathroom, and that's the only time I've been allowed out of bed since meeting you! I won't remember how to use my legs if I don't get up!" She gave a precise pinch to the hand bracing itself against her mattress, almost automatically making the healer fall onto it. The patient, on the other hand, had shoved fuzzy slippers onto her feet and was soon bracing herself against her bedside table. It didn't take long to then move to the wall as she began to gingerly make her way to the bedroom door. She was in her own clothes for the time being, so she didn't have to be embarrassed about being caught out and about in her pajamas.

"Robert! Some assistance, if you please!" Timothy called out in desperation, making the guard just outside quickly burst into the room with a barely concealed smirk.

"Now, really, my lady," the large black cat scolded, although his tone was gentle.

"Don't you dare, Robert," Haru warned as he began his approach. "I once dismantled an assassin with a broken leg, don't think I couldn't take you!"

"A broken leg?" he asked with surprise. The large cat didn't finish his approach, but he did intentionally lean against the wall Haru was walking along, just about forcing her to come to him instead. "How did you manage around that?"

"My _life_ was in danger, Robert! Besides, no one's been stupid enough to assault my sick bed since. Making me fight while I'm in pain just makes me a better fighter, in case you've missed what I did to Drac." She managed to make her way close enough to nearly touch him. "Please move."

He shook his head in a teasing manner. "Maybe later. Your legs are already shaking, you know."

"Only because I haven't been using them lately!" Haru was turned enough to glare at Timothy, who was still standing next to her bed. "I _promise_ you that I'm well enough to go downstairs today. I want to find out how the orchestra is progressing with my work, and I won't get an accurate report from anyone else."

The old grey cat tried not to smile at the old ploy. "Not even the conductor himself? I could send for him."

She shook her head stubbornly. "There are instinctual things he doesn't know to look for. Timothy, I've been behaving myself so far because I respect you, but it's been nearly three months since the hydra. I've been up and at it at two months with comparable injuries!"

This didn't so much assure the healer as it distressed him. "Only because _I_ was not the one monitoring your progress. It's a wonder that you're alive, my lady, but I refuse to leave it a wonder on how you continue to draw breath."

"I _need_ music to continue healing, Timothy," she pleaded, turning desperate and wild-eyed. "The sooner I can sing with the orchestra, the faster my progress will be. I know why you're doing this, but please back off!"

"Is everything all right?" Baron asked, poking his head in the room through the open door. Then he turned his head enough to see Haru past Robert and gave a sigh. "Again, Haru?"

"Don't **you** start acting like I'm five, too!" she snapped. "If I say I'm well enough to check on the orchestra, I'm well enough. Tell Timothy to stop trying to chain me to the bed."

"The necessary iron would put unwanted pressure on your legs and the stitches on them," the old healer informed her, since he had already given _plenty_ of thought to the notion.

His lord tried unsuccessfully to suppress a chuckle, but his green eyes were still as soft as moss as he gazed at the lady. "If the pair of you are done playing, I have a solution. I will walk Haru to the stairs, carry her down them, allow her to walk to the orchestra, but I carry her back here."

"That's too much walking," Timothy insisted as his patient also protested.

"That's not enough walking!"

Baron gave a playful smirk, one that his doctor couldn't help but notice was more directed at the lady than himself. "So you aren't done entertaining each other. What a pity. I thought for certain that a change of scenery would pacify you until your notes arrive tomorrow."

"What, already?" Haru asked with delighted surprise. "With the other thing I asked for?"

"Of course. Will this be enough to satisfy you until then?" the feline lord asked while drawing close enough to offer her an arm and friendly smile.

"In that case, yes," she conceded, unsteadily abandoning the wall for his arm.

"But be aware that if I catch the smallest hint that you're reaching the end of your strength-" he tried warning while helping to steady her.

"-You will have no hesitation to carry me the rest of the way, even if I can't make it to the door," Haru finished his sentence, more annoyed than surprised.

"I'm thrilled that we understand each other," he drawled, making her laugh lightly as he slowly led her towards the doorway. "I know what to watch for, Timothy."

The old doctor scowled but knew that this was the best way to keep the peace for now.

Still… as his lord and the lady left the room, he couldn't shake just how _right_ it felt to see the pair, side by side.

ooOoo

After closing the door behind them, Baron managed a sheepish smile while adjusting her hold on his arm. "My apologies, Haru. Timothy means well, but he's a little over fond of bedrest in my opinion."

" _Really_? I couldn't tell," she answered, conveying all sorts of sarcasm in her tone as she struggled to keep her footsteps steady.

Baron laughed as he adjusted the pace. A glance downwards made his face turn warm under his fur. "My apologies, I should have waited until you had proper footwear."

"Ha. These aren't even the weirdest shoes I've worn out in public. They're nice and warm, though," she added, just having enough energy to wiggle one fuzzy grey slipper at him. "Besides, I didn't want to give Timothy enough time to make more reasons why I have to stay a couch potato for a few more months. I can go faster, you know," she tried to inform him with a grin.

He returned the grin without a thought. "Just because you can, doesn't mean I'll allow it. I doubt you're that interested in having new stitches in your leg."

It felt like they were barely at a snail's pace, but the feline lord was still worried about her wounds. He slowed the pace a little more until they were barely taking a step every two seconds.

Nearly like a wedding march.

Baron swiftly shook the idea out of his head, glad that she couldn't read his thoughts. It was _far_ too soon to draw such comparisons.

"Something wrong?" Haru nearly panted, trying so hard to stand on her own even as she leaned on him.

Not about to tell her where his thoughts had been leading, he offered a comforting smile instead. "Nothing worth troubling you about. Is it truly so critical for you to meet with the orchestra today?"

Haru managed a nod through a wan smile. "I'm getting deprived. Timothy's messing with my usual methods, and with Yuki gone on her private lessons and Julia always around, it's… hard to get the same healing process."

"How so?" he asked, wondering if she was speaking of her energy gifts. It certainly wouldn't harm investigations if he could encourage more explanations about them. _'Not to mention the fact that it will curb my impulse to just carry her to the music room.'_

A bit of color returned to her cheeks as she faced straight ahead. "It's something that's difficult to explain without the right mindset. I've given up on trying to tell people about it since they just want me to confess to being a mermaid for whatever stupid reason."

"Try me," he urged her. "I've gotten it through my thick skull that you're a disgrace to mer-kind, even if you did have the blood."

Haru immediately beamed at him, warmly enough to make him forget his original intent for a moment.

But she still took in a deep breath. "Have you ever noticed that… being in a certain place with certain people has a different feeling than with a completely different location with other people?"

He cocked his head while adjusting her hold on his arm. "That's a bit vague, but I think I see what you're asking. A business meeting is not the same… _energy flow_ as a tournament."

It was impossible to miss the relief in his companion's entire stature. As he had hoped, Haru leapt on his careful choice of words.

"I'm a bit more sensitive to energy fluctuations." She bit her lip nervously. "Sometimes… don't noise it about too much, this is where I lose people down the 'mermaid' path."

"You haven't lost me yet," he encouraged her with an eager smile.

"… I can channel the way energy flows. It's a…" she trailed off, trying to think of the right word, even pausing next to a flower painting. "…drive. Sort of a spiritual hunger. I can do it without music, but it's a lot easier with it, especially when surrounded by people I don't know that well."

"Why don't you rest here for a moment?" Baron asked, gently easing her into a nearby bench and sitting next to her. "The orchestra isn't likely to get away from you. When you mentioned Yuki's needed absence, you mean that you can manipulate her energy flow?"

"It doesn't hurt her," Haru insisted without a beat while massaging her tired legs. "I'd have happily let myself starve to death years ago if it could hurt someone. If anything, it… helps energy flow a bit better to where it was already headed. But I won't take credit for Yuki's brains. That girl was already a diamond before she let me polish her up a little." A silly smile teased her lips as her mind wandered back to her beloved child.

He held his chin in thought. "Is this gift common in your family?"

The warmth in Haru's eyes went out like a candle. "It's a defining trait, even if outsiders don't consciously know about it. All they can understand is that being around one of us makes them feel good. But since controlling it requires effort, it's more of a curse on the others. It's… a little too easy for people to get addicted to how they feel around one of my… genetic relations that refuses to be careful. Desperate people can do terrible things."

"That certainly explains Drac's behavior concerning you," Baron muttered almost to himself. _'Not to mention the monster that 'raised' her.'_

Haru nodded miserably. "I could feel him spiritually nudging me to let him back in ever since he forced himself back into my life. But the only way to cure an addiction is to cut off the source. It's exhausting to keep up my barriers around him, which is one of the reasons I'd play with the orchestra every chance I got. I don't want to bring Yuki to the front of Drac's diseased mind, so I was trying to leave her out of any discussions before."

Not sure of what else to do, Baron offered his new friend an open hand a little hesitantly.

She gave him a weak smile in gratitude before squeezing his palm in a warm, gentle hold. "Even this helps."

"If I had known earlier, I might have been able to help without the orchestra. That is, if you would have been comfortable with the idea," he hastily added on while feeling uncomfortable himself.

She managed a guiltier smile for him. "I'm only touching your energy lightly. We're still working on being friends, so I was taking it slow for your sake. That's why I haven't just been 'feeding' off Julia and Timothy like I wanted to, or the Moon brothers. It feels… impolite to do it to near strangers when I'm not at a concert or something comparable."

Baron couldn't help but smile at her stubborn courtesy. "Do you even _know_ how to be selfish?"

"Of course I do!" she retorted indignantly. "I just save it for when it won't hurt anyone."

He clapped a hand to his forehead, unable to stop the laugh that was rippling out of his chest. _'That is_ _ **not**_ _what 'selfish' means!'_

"Okay, _now_ you're just making it harder to keep it a light feeding," Haru grumbled, although there was a pleased smile on her face from the pleasant sound.

Baron let himself have his laughing spell, enjoying how much easier it was in her presence. Perhaps… it was because of her gift. If so, he could definitely open himself up to more of her influence. "H-Haru," he finally managed with a wide smile. "I'm afraid we're stuck together for a fairly long time. Yuki is all the cement our friendship needs, although your sense of humor is greatly appreciated. Feel free to feed on me as you wish."

"You're sure?" Haru insisted, making absolutely certain of the offer before making a move.

He nodded, more than a little curious if he would be able to feel the full brunt of-

She threw her arms around him and gave a surprisingly strong embrace around his shoulders. Warmth seemed to flood out from her and into him, somehow akin to feeling the sun's rays on a spring afternoon after a long winter. He hadn't been stressed before Haru wrapped her arms around him, and yet he could feel more relaxed, more… free.

Like everything was going to turn out just right.

"Your hugs _are_ warm," he blurted out in surprise, making her freeze and look up with a raised eyebrow. "… My apologies," he added with a sheepish smile. "When Yuki wrote me that richly deserved letter, the first page was a list of reasons she worships you. 'She gives warm hugs' was the first on the list."

"Ha. She _would_ rank them first," Haru retorted, giving his shoulders one more squeeze before releasing him. Even her smile seemed warmer, more alive than it had before. "Sometimes I think the 'love at first sight' on my end was 'love at first hug' on hers."

"I'd believe it," Baron muttered under his breath, trying not to be disappointed that she had already withdrawn from him. Though, now that he was aware of it, he could still feel Haru's warmth around him like a favorite blanket, almost spiritually tethering himself to her. _'Is she_ _ **certain**_ _that she's the one benefiting from this?'_ "I think I felt a little of this right before waking up in the hydra's cave."

She nodded, not caring for the memory. "Your guard was down while you were unconscious, and I was _very_ worried about you. I didn't dare check your pulse since I was covered in blood, so I used that way to make sure you were going to wake up. I didn't really care if you'd be offended at that point."

Baron could only offer a sad, apologetic smile. "If I had known your influence felt like **this** , I wouldn't have spent that much time and energy blocking you. This more than explains Drac's desperate attempts to win your favor back."

She answered that with a disgusted scoff. "So that he can spend more time telling me I'm wasting my potential by being more than a singing liar that wears expensive dresses? No thanks." Then Haru bit her lip nervously before locking eyes with him. "I should go ahead and admit that I've been feeding heavily on your sister when she visits me. But it's not completely my fault! Her energy is like a battering ram."

Baron had to laugh at that statement. "I-I could have told you that before she lost her milk teeth! This is no jest; when she wanted attention as a toddler, she'd run up to the closest cat and just about knock them clear off their feet if they didn't grab her first!" _'I don't even_ _ **want**_ _to think about all the times she used tails for doorbells. I swear she enjoyed the screams!'_

"So she hasn't changed much," she countered with a teasing grin.

"Not noticeably, other than she is more articulate now. She occasionally asks for what she wants instead of just taking it. Unless, of course, one is unlucky enough to meet her in a lacrosse field."

"How brutal is she?" Haru couldn't keep herself from begging through a predatory smile.

Baron was certain that smirk was similar to his own. "Full-grown toms have broken down weeping when they see her on the other team. More than one has forfeited on the spot instead of challenging her."

They both had a good laugh over that, warm and full with happiness. By _codfish,_ Baron loved how easy it was to laugh around her.

Haru forced herself to calm down enough to wipe a tear out of her eye. "I'm glad I got to meet her. I hope you appreciate how lucky you are to have a sibling that loves you this much."

Both of them flinched, although the feline lord was certain his was a shade guiltier than her regret.

' _I am_ _ **not**_ _about to admit how often I've taken Hilary for granted since Louise left.'_

"Sorry. That just popped out. I think I'm feeling rested enough to reach the stairs now," she offered in a little voice.

"Hm? Oh, right," he remembered, getting to his feet in order to assist her. _'It really isn't that bad, having her arm in mine.'_

If anything, it was surprisingly… comfortable. Especially with her warmth surrounding him like a steady embrace.

"…Have we been that much trouble on you, Haru?" he asked as they slowly approached the corner right before the stairs.

Haru looked away for a minute, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully before answering with a shy smile. "I'm… a little too used to taking care of things on my own. But it feels nice that you and your people care enough to tell me when I'm being ridiculous."

The feline lord beamed at her and couldn't resist the urge to sneak in another hug when he got to sweep her into his arms again for the stairs. But about midway down the stairs, he stopped in surprise. "But if you require people around to stay 'spiritually fed', why do you keep the Refuge as your main residence?"

Haru managed a tired smile. "In the big busy days of my career, I was constantly surrounded by people that always wanted things from me. When I have control of that much spiritual energy, I can handle it, but it's harder to constantly maintain control with a large crowd when I'm not using music, and even harder to keep my shields up when I'm too tired to see to everyone else's needs. The Refuge is just that; a safe place where I can relax and not worry about an overload."

Then her large brown eyes lit up with inspiration. "Think about having a chef that feeds you nothing but sweets year after year. It tastes good, it gives you quick energy-"

Baron could see where she was going with this metaphor. "But not the nutrients required to stay at your best health. You would have to find alternative sources, like Bruce."

She nodded. "He pretended to understand when I explained it to him, but I'm not sure how much of it went over his head. But hey, he was willing to _listen_. The Refuge is a place where I can hide from the 'sugar energy' when it gets to be too much. Meeting someone like Bruce or Yuki or you is like Muta walking up to me with a nice big bowl of his fish and vegetable stew; delicious _and_ nutritious."

Baron could only laugh as he resumed the walk down the stairs. "Even in my worst moods, I can't resist his food."

"My point exactly."

ooOoo

Life was good.

That's about all Toby could think right now. The rest of his mind was a puddle of mush thanks to the now-familiar claws running up and down his back. His mommy and giant uncle weren't around right now, so Mommy's new friend was keeping him company in a large garden.

"Ah, your highness!" a new cat called out, keeping a careful distance away. "I take it her majesty is giving her grace one of her lessons?"

Toby looked up at the intruder, not caring about his fancy suit or lady friend. Well, maybe the lady friend if she gave good scratches.

Lune nodded, keeping a firm hand on the leash just in case. "Her dog tends to disrupt or at least distract Yuki from what my mother's trying to teach, so I'm keeping him company out here until they're done."

The lady friend was carefully keeping herself behind the new cat, trying to cover her nerves behind a beaded fan. "Don't you find it beneath your dignity to play nursemaid to a _dog_?"

"Not Yuki's dog," Lune asserted quickly, wrapping an arm around Toby's middle for a possessive hug. "He's really not so bad, and I want to prove she can trust me."

Toby licked his new friend's furry cheek once in innocent gratitude rolling over to expose his belly. This was a cat he could trust, he was sure of it.

Yuki liked him, so what did he have to worry about?

ooOoo

Haru looked with some trepidation at the three trunks Harold and Robert had just finished bringing into her bedroom through the door Jeremy was taking the current shift for. "I think I may need to apologize in advance, Baron. Dad **heavily** shipped our characters."

"Shipped?" Robert couldn't resist asking as he set his trunk close to the wall.

"Think Hilary when she's inviting a 'friend' over for tea," Baron explained, his heart pounding in excitement. This was it! He had gotten too distracted by her personal trunks to look at the notes before now, other than pinpointing which trunks held the critical information, but now there was nothing to-

"Or you when you set up a picnic?" Harold drawled with a smirk. "How many couples _have_ you arranged? I can think of-"

"So which one should we inspect first, Haru?!" his lord quickly interrupted with a desperate smile at his new friend, whose face was now splitting into a smirk he knew a little too well.

"A little late there, Baron. Hiromi's read the flower cards to me _and_ she talks a lot. I already know you're a master shipper."

The tawny feline scowled at the news, sending a glare at the three brothers who were trying to suppress their rather naughty chuckles. "Thank you kindly for bringing these up for us. I am certain that I recall one more bit of luggage?" _"Take your time bringing that one up."_

"Yes, my lord," Robert agreed through his mirth, shoving his similarly-built brother to the door.

"Quit your shoving!" Harold snapped as Jeremy gave one more smirk to his lord before closing the door again.

Baron waited until after the door was closed to offer a nervous smile to Haru. "Does it matter which one we open first?"

"That depends on what you want to look at first." She shuffled around her blankets, urging them to cover more of her arms before pointing with her face at the closest trunk. "This one holds the character bios, the one closest to the door has the standard and detailed interactions with each other, and the one by the window has all the miscellaneous leftover information."

"The bios seem like the logical place to start." Not needing more of an invitation, he knelt and opened that trunk, noticing that each binder within was labeled with a different name.

Save for his own, which were labeled 'Baron 1', 'Baron 2', and 'Baron 3'.

"I don't see your file," he tried not to complain, carefully removing binders and setting them aside for the one he was genuinely curious about. _'Never mind all those trunks I read through. Have I always been this greedy?'_

Haru answered with an ironic laugh. "Dad was introducing the cast to me, why would I have a file?" Then her grin tightened, and her eyes turned a little distant. "I can just imagine his opening line for me, though. _Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly introduce my finest work; my daughter, Haru. She's a loving child and can do almost anything she sets her mind to but be warned that she is an extremist. Tell her she needs to learn how to stand up for herself, and she'll get into a knife fight with a shark,_ " she announced with a voice that was eerily similar to Drac's, but had a warmer, loving pride to it. She then sighed sadly. "He never did let me live that down."

Baron could only shake his head, though privately disappointed as he tried to decide who to read up on first as he looked between familiar names and unfamiliar ones that he had heard her use for his friends and family. "I'm _still_ amazed that you survived such an encounter!"

"You're not the only one," Haru muttered under her breath while rubbing at the lower left of her ribcage. "All it would have taken for me to be dead is _not_ being paranoid about being in the open ocean in nothing but a fake mermaid tail and a filmy shirt. Dad apologized in the hospital for trying to talk me into a fake knife for my shell belt. If that hadn't been caught on underwater cameras and used for the opening credits, the mermaid rumors might have died by now."

Baron couldn't repress the urge. Standing up from the binders, he took the three steps needed to hold her face between his hands and gently lick her hair. A momentary panic flashed at the distinctly feline impulse-

"Goofball," she laughed softly, apparently not noticing a thing.

At least she had been unable to see how long his tongue was as opposed to her own. He nuzzled her hair and took in her unique scent, not quite understanding a simple miracle. "How are you still _alive_ , Haru?"

She wrapped her hands around his wrists, soaking in his concern and worry before replacing it with her gratitude. "Isn't **that** a million dollar question?" she asked softly while resting her forehead on his chin. "The only answer I've ever come up with is… I'm not supposed to die yet."

Baron snuck in an embrace as long as she was accepting his affection. "Oh? Would you happen to know who decides such things?"

Haru worked her arms loose from the blankets before wrapping them around his torso. "I've heard a few theories. But regardless of who it is that keeps arranging for me to be the deciding factor at a critical time… I don't think I'll be allowed to die before my time. Not until my jobs are done."

Baron was nuzzling her soft hair before he realized what he was doing. "Chin up, Haru. If someone's in charge of your 'jobs', he or she is planning worthy payment."

It must have been the link she had tied between them, because he could _feel_ her smile although he was looking at the headboard instead of her face.

"Did you think my attachment to Yuki was _just_ because of my loneliness and her sweet nature?"

' _That's what you tried to take from her, you monster.'_ Baron gave himself another mental kick. He was certain that his inner self would have bruising by now, if it were possible.

His ego certainly did.

"Well, if she were only the beginning of your payment, would you protest?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

A dreamy sigh escaped her throat as her entire body relaxed at the beautiful thought. "Wouldn't that be something? I mean, I don't want to be greedy, but… if Yuki's only a prelude, imagine what the full opera would look like!"

"I'm sure it will be more than worth the wait." The feline lord gave his friend another solid hug before releasing her, returned to the trunk, and plucked one binder that didn't have a name he had heard her reference yet. Since it would have been improper for him to sit next to her on a bed for longer than a moment or two, he sat himself on the chair next to the head of her bed. He leaned over enough so that she wouldn't have trouble reading what he had selected.

"Oh, Jonathan!" Haru exclaimed happily, making the feline lord blink in surprise.

"Is he an important character? I don't recall hearing of him before." _'I know a few Johns, but I can't think of a Jonathan at the moment.'_

Haru responded by reaching over enough to open the binder. His jaw immediately dropped as he took in the fully colored first page. All sound left him until he couldn't even hear his own heart-beat.

If his friend noticed his stunned reaction, she was ignoring it, tracing the drawing's feline jawline with one finger for a few contented minutes. "I was so disappointed that we barely ever used Jonathan. He rewrites the definition of 'loving manipulation'.

Baron still couldn't take his eyes off the detailed sketch, more than one hair standing on end, but thankfully Haru was too distracted to look at him. "Is… is he…?" he tried to ask, despite knowing the answer. There was no text on this sketch, but frankly, it wasn't needed.

There was no mistaking that cat's identity. The green eyes were only a shade darker than his own. Instead of grey in any shade, this tom preferred a light cream suit that flattered the red in his fur. But coloring aside, this could easily have been his long-lost twin. Other than the fact that the cat's mouth was twisted into a strangely familiar grin.

"Our firstborn. That is, our _characters'_ firstborn, as far as Dad was concerned," Haru swiftly corrected herself with a nervous giggle. "Dad kept saying he had hints that Jonathan was anything but an only child, but I could never get a number out of him."

"Rough estimate?" Baron begged before the realization hit that he wasn't thinking the question.

"More than four for sure. Beyond that, he wouldn't say."

It was only here that Baron was able to make himself look at Haru. It was a startling experience, how easily his mind could imagine her current, sheepish, smile on the face of his future son.

Haru's eyes faded dreamily away. "When I was growing up, I was smitten with the idea of six kids."

" _Six_?" Baron blurted in surprise. "Why so many?" _'I know for a fact that Renaldo's parents certainly weren't planning on nine children.'_

Haru managed a shrug from under her blankets. "I found out years later that my people are really into large families, but that was more of a survival thing. It was expected that most of the children wouldn't live to adulthood, so having a large family increases the chances of a bloodline to keep going."

Her hand almost automatically came up and slapped itself over her mouth as her eyes went wide with mortification.

Baron stared at her, a little surprised by the revelation. He knew from Yuki's interrogation that Haru's people were kept under lock and key, but… "Why on earth would most of them not live to adulthood?"

If there was a chance that something could harm his future children, he was dead set on preventing it.

"It's no longer relevant," Haru added hastily, now refusing to look him in the eye.

He wasn't about to let up, getting up from his seat in order to grab her hand. "Haru-"

"I took care of that problem for them; end of discussion!" she snapped, pulling her hand away.

"Then it won't-"

Her phone on the bedside table started belting out a type of music he didn't care for, but he cared even less for the interruption.

Haru's reaction was the opposite, almost leaping at the device and answering it without checking the identity of the caller with a relieved smile. "Hello?"

"Hey, Haru. Are you alone?" a tired male asked in a pleading tone.

Haru gave a guilty glance to Baron. "Did you need me to be, Bruce?"

"I would appreciate it."

She held the phone against her shoulder while giving the lord an apologetic look. "Bruce sounds like he needs some one-on-one time. Do you mind?"

Baron glowered at the phone but knew there was little he could do about the timing. Unable to resist a pout, he closed the binder and tucked it under one arm. "I'll just take Jonathan out in the hall with me. Call out when Bruce is done," he instructed with resignation as he marched to her door.

"Thanks," she responded, keeping the phone at her shoulder until he had closed it behind him.

"Is something wrong, my lord?" Jeremy asked while leaning against the wall, but Baron made a small shushing sound as he hurriedly pulled out and opened his pocket watch to the mirror for the 'spy' spell.

" _The only way you could have timed this better would be if you had called literally sixty seconds ago!" Haru confided, keeping her tone down in case someone was listening._

But for the 'spy' spell, that was barely an issue, especially since he had noticed soon after Drac had caught him that human hearing was nothing compared to cats'.

" _What? Is he giving you trouble again?" Bruce asked suspiciously._

" _Oh no, not trouble… necessarily," Haru tried to assure him through a nervous smile. "He was just trying to ask a question that I_ _ **really**_ _didn't want to answer."_

" _The Louis one?"_

Baron cocked his head in confusion, but kept his mouth shut so that he could continue to listen. He could barely even pay attention that the current Moon brother on guard was inching himself closer to also listen in.

" _Ha. If I had been given a choice beforehand, I'd have actually_ _ **answered**_ _the Louis question instead of asking why he needed to know and delivering one of my death glares." Haru shook her head and took a long, relaxing breath. "Never mind about Baron; this is outside the usual calling time, and you didn't pick up last night. What's wrong?"_

 _There was an uncomfortable silence for a whole minute, but one could easily hear Bruce's unsteady breaths as he tried to make the words come out._

" _Something didn't happen to Dick or Tim, did it?" Haru guessed, looking horrified at the idea._

" _No, they're fine." The billionaire took in a deep breath. "First, you have to promise no wise-cracks. Dick and Tim are more than taking care of that, I promise you."_

 _One eyebrow raised up. "Did a supervillain blow up your home?" she guessed next._

" _That'd be a lesser problem, frankly. Give me your word."_

 _Looking even more worried, Haru crossed her heart with a finger before pretending to fly and poke her own eye. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a needle in my eye; I won't give you grief over what you're about to tell me. Now spit it out; what's wrong?"_

 _More heavy breathing, but it sounded a lot closer to forming words this time. "I have a son," he finally stated with all the bluntness of a falling anvil._

Baron looked up at Jeremy in surprise, even though the younger Moon brother only looked confused. "Bruce isn't married," he hurriedly whispered, making the confusion melt into scandal.

 _Haru looked flabbergasted but was able to brush it off inside of a minute, though she was nibbling on her lower lip as if biting back her usual humor. "I see. How old?"_

" _Ten years last month. His name is Damien. His mother only_ _ **now**_ _decided to let me know, now that she's got pressing… business, to deal with for a while." Bruce sounded like he was barely repressing his rage over the fact._

" _Have I met her?"_

 _Bruce let out a sigh of relief. "Thank heaven, no. She's the jealous type. I have to keep convincing her that you and I are platonic every time we meet, and… it's for the best if you don't meet her. Trust me on this."_

 _Haru gave the phone an amused look, but let it pass. "So tell me about my newest nephew. What's he into? Favorite colors? Hobbies?"_

"Why is she taking this so calmly?" Jeremy tried to whisper in outrage, making his lord wave a hand to encourage silence.

It didn't stop him from breathing an explanation. "Haru has known Bruce for over half her life. She probably guessed that something like this would happen eventually, but she isn't the type to throw stones at misconduct. She'd rather love than scold."

Jeremy cut off a curt remark in order to keep listening.

" _Please forgive me, Haru; I only met him a few hours ago myself." Bruce gave a big sigh. "He seems to think that he's thirty instead of ten. He's very serious and demanding, but because his mother never… kept my identity a secret from him, Damien's ego could rival Drac's."_

Both Baron and Jeremy shuddered in disgust.

" **Please** be planning to change that," the feline lord groaned tiredly. "I don't want to go through this mess twice."

 _Haru sat straight up in bed, letting the blankets fall into her lap as pure terror filled her features. "You will_ _ **humble**_ _him before I will agree to meet him!" she ordered like an empress,_ loudly enough to be heard through the door as well as the little mirror in the pocket watch.

' _At least I won't have to explain why I know the new question to ask,'_ Baron thought gratefully, still keeping his eyes glued to the mirror.

" _That's why I didn't exactly order plane tickets to tell you in person, no matter how much I miss your hugs. I'm sorry, Haru, but your brand of encouragement would be premature just now. He admires your 'prowess on the battlefield', but so help me,_ _ **he will not**_ _turn into Drac!"_

" _Do whatever it takes!" she insisted, now holding the phone between her hands as if to emphasize how desperately she wanted to avoid that catastrophe. Then she looked to the side, biting her lip more from nerves this time. "I know I stayed out of your parenting style for Dick and Tim, but will you hate me if I offer a suggestion for Damien?"_

" _I'll take anything you can offer!" Bruce just about begged, as if that was the real reason for the call._

 _Haru held on hand over her heart, her eyes filling with self-loathing once more. "May Dad forgive me if his soul overhears, but I saw almost from the beginning where he was going wrong with Drac. I still haven't forgiven myself for not speaking up about it when it would have done that brat a lick of good."_

" _Do_ me _a lick of good!"_

 _Haru leaned back on her small mountain of pillows, playing with the edges of her blankets with one hand as the other one kept the phone to her ear. "Dad never really spent quality time with Drac, even when the boy was home for the summer or Christmas. He always seemed to have a project that needed his attention which is the biggest reason why I tried to spend time with him myself. But let's face facts; a friend or sibling figure is not a parent. I'll be the first to admit that your schedule's probably packed, too-"_

" _You have_ _ **no**_ _idea," Bruce muttered under his breath._

" _-but now that Damien's part of your life, do whatever rearranging you have to for him. Believe me; when you're on your death bed, not being a decent parent will be your biggest regret. It sure was Dad's. Play catch with the boy, take him for walks, long talks over ice cream." That last suggestion made her give a wistful smile. "If he thinks he's thirty, find something fun that will remind him he's only a kid once. Also, make him do something that he despises on a daily basis if you can manage it. That should help keep his ego in check."_

"… I was **worried** about her parenting style?" Baron just managed to exclaim in a soft tone.

"What's ice cream?" Jeremy asked curiously.

"It's like sherbet, but made of milk," his lord quickly explained, trying to fight back his gag reflex as his friend swiftly had to do the same.

"… _You know, Haru?" Bruce asked after mulling her advice over for a few minutes. There was a warm smile in his tone. "I stand by what I've said before. You were_ _ **born**_ _to be a parent."_

 _Haru's answering smile was just as full of love. "I stand by my words as well. You're not exactly chopped liver, buddy. So, is there anything new on Dick's girlfriend, or progression as normal as ever?"_

" _She dumped him, but he doesn't seem too broken up about it. I think Tim's got the current medal for longest-lasting relationship, even if she occasionally throws things at him."_

" _Sounds normal to me," Haru couldn't help giggling, curling up in her blankets to make herself comfortable for more news. "Is she at least keeping 'things' little enough not to hurt him?"_

 _"You know Tim. She still hasn't managed to land a hit."_

Baron decided he had eavesdropped on enough, closing his pocket watch and tucking it away as Robert and Harold balanced Haru's tote of fabric and thread between them.

"You didn't get into a fight with her, did you? Harold asked, setting down his edge of the tote as Robert followed his lead.

"No, her scandalous friend had some scandalous news for her," Jeremy answered darkly.

"Don't tell them, Jeremy. She won't ask questions if their reactions are genuine," Baron implored, switching his attention to the binder still under one arm. He opened it again, taking in that strangely familiar face with a sharp longing.

This was going to be a son he could be proud of, he could feel it in every inch of his body. After years of resigning himself to bachelorhood, Baron had fought hard not to imagine what it would be like to be a father. But as usual, Haru had ways of breaking through all his defenses and objections with but a word and gesture.

His view of the careful sketch became darker as the three Moon brothers huddled around him to get a look.

"Did someone have trouble remembering your fur colors?" Robert asked dryly.

"Not in the least." Baron gently touched his son's face before forcing himself to turn the page. " _Name; Jonathan Renaldo von Gikkingen. Status; Firstborn of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen and Baroness Haru von Gikkingen_."

"Wait, that's your _son_?!" Harold exclaimed in shock. "But you're not married yet!"

"Don't make me start on that rant," Jeremy growled mutinously, leaning against the wall again.

Baron kept reading, too curious to stop himself now. " _Strengths; Fencing, humor, and manipulation. Inherited his mother's embrace. Weaknesses: True love, carrots in any form, and his father's tea blends. Inherited his father's inability to stay out of other people's business-_ I resent that!" he broke off the reading with a snarl.

Robert fought not to start laughing. "Don't you mean you **resemble** that?"

"I can leave other people alone!" the lord insisted.

"Like you did just now?" Jeremy smirked in a low tone so that Haru wouldn't hear.

"You stay out of this!" Baron didn't think about whether she could hear him until after it was already too late.

"Go on; what else about Jonathan? He sounds like he'll be a lot of fun," Harold begged through a laugh.

Baron glared at all of them before resuming the bio. " _Hobbies include matchmaking-_ stop laughing!"

There was no prayer of that. Not for at least a few weeks, the tabby could see that with only a glance. Deciding that it was worth a scolding, he let himself back into Haru's room and locked the door to keep them out for now.

"Just pretend I'm not here," he begged his future wife, marching to the farthest corner of the room so that he could finish the file in peace. Not that it stopped his large ears from picking up her cute giggle.

"Poor Baron. I think he made the mistake of reading something out loud instead of privately. Sorry, should have warned you," she said a little louder while slightly holding the phone away from her mouth.

"I should have thought things through a little better before opening my mouth," he countered miserably, even as his eyes took in more information.

 _Hobbies include matchmaking, pranking, though the severity and nature always compliment the recipient, and inventing new ways to get himself and his younger siblings into trouble._

"Oh dear," he fretted, even as a part of him secretly looked forward to the challenge.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll talk to you tonight, good luck with Damien." Haru ended her phone call while giving him a sympathetic look. "In front of some _Moon_ brothers, too."

"I'll never hear the end of it. You said that you hardly ever used Jonathan?" he asked, turning enough to lock eyes with her. "What _did_ you use him for?"

She beamed dreamily. "A time-traveler. His main job was to go back in time and arrange for us- _our characters!-_ to get together in such a way that the kingdom didn't suffer from it."

Baron felt another chill. "How would the kingdom suffer from our union?"

Haru shrugged before snuggling under her fallen blankets. "It was mostly timing, my character's anger issues, and removing certain distractions so that we could focus on a cousin of Lune's that was trying to overthrow him. We could watch that movie and the extended epilogue tonight, if you'd like."

"I think I would," he agreed in a heartbeat, forcing his eyes back to the file. But this time, his eyes didn't focus on the words.

They focused on his own 'matchmaking' skills.

' _She refuses to use children as allies in a disagreement with me. She's more concerned with character than privilege. She has a healthy appreciation for hard work, and I would never have to fear about our children's safety if I am called away.'_ An evil smirk crossed his furry lips at the amusing thought.

"What's that look for?" she asked suspiciously.

He snapped to attention with a guilty smile. "I was imagining what would happen if someone was foolish enough to threaten _any_ child of yours."

" _ **Dead**_ ," she snarled like an animal, clenching her fists as if she could already make claws come out.

He laughed with delight, drawing close enough to lick her forehead again.

"Goofball," she muttered under her breath.

"Guardian angel," he countered warmly while sneaking a warm hug. He had to set their son's binder in her lap in order to claim that hug. _'I'll do whatever it takes for Jonathan and his younger siblings to become a reality.'_

He had a small… he didn't quite want to call it a premonition, but it was definitely an image that flashed behind his eyes as he increased his hold on Haru.

It was a small kitten, a little girl he could tell from the vague skirt. The vision was not very clear, except for one vivid detail.

A pair of warm brown eyes like Haru's, but with feline slits for pupils. In those eyes, he could see nothing but complete adoration as her barely visible arms reached up to him for a hug before the vision ended.

His heart filled again with a desperate yearning to hold that little girl. But all he could do about it was deepen the embrace with his dear friend. _'That's it. I've lost the fight. I wish losing always felt this_ _ **good**_ _.'_

Haru managed a low laugh while wrapping her arms around his chest. "Sorry, Baron. I've been called that, too."

That didn't stop him from nuzzling her short brown hair happily. "I'll think of something new at some point." _'I believe 'wife' will have a nice ring to it when you're… when_ _ **we're**_ _ready for it.'_


	31. Music

**Chapter Thirty-One: Music**

" _Music is the strongest form of magic."  
_

 _-Marilyn Manson_

 **xxXxx**

" _Is it time yet?" Sai begged her big sister, who could only growl while checking her watch._

 _Mai then looked straight ahead and prayed that no one she knew would see her with her little sister. "Like I said, it's going to be any minute. Concerts usually run a few minutes late, so we need to be patient."_

 _Sai pouted while she bounced impatiently in her seat, trying to ignore the loud audience that surrounded them like a mob. "I just want to know if she sounds as good in person as she does in movies."_

 _Mai shouldn't have had to bring her kid sister. Yoshioka Haru may have been of Japanese descent, but English seemed to be the only language the American star knew. Sai wasn't going to be able to understand a word for four more years, so how could the little nuisance have the full appreciation for Yoshioka-sama's genius?_

 _Still, there was only so much Mai could fight when parents deliver the ultimatum 'if your sister isn't going, neither are you'._

 _Mai shook off the anger and answered her sister's worries. "She'd better be at_ **least** _as good as I heard. I have a lot of gloating to do on Monday to Ting-Ting, and I don't want to exagger-"_

 _A powerful guitar riff exploded from the speakers as the blue and green lights began dazzling the stage like fireflies. The large band, dressed in odd black tuxedoes with orange accents, began an energetic beat. Sai and Mai could barely hear that beat from how loudly they were shrieking their approval for the show to begin._

 _A large misshapen moon began to descend from the rafters, almost crude compared to the perfectly detailed giant flowers decorating the stage._

" _ **Are you ready?**_ _" the female announcer asked in a formal tone, making the audience scream the affirmative._

 _Mai felt certain that she was going to be deaf for at least a month. But what a way to lose your hearing!_

" _ **Because I'm ready. I hope you're ready,**_ _" the announcer continued, becoming less formal, more musical as the large band made the music swell once again._

 _Just as Mai realized that it wasn't an announcer, the lumpy moon began to twitch, unfolding itself from the 'crescent' position so that it now resembled a chrysalis._

" _ **Beca-use… I'm not hiding anymore!**_ _" the familiar voice sang out, but it wasn't in English._

 _It was Japanese!_

 _The chrysalis ripped open from the inside, revealing Yoshioka Haru in all her glory. Her dress was_ _ **exquisite**_ _, and clearly took inspiration from a monarch butterfly's wings. Her skin and hair had been carefully dusted with gold to make her glow in the spotlight even more than she usually did._

 _She grinned at her appreciative audience, stepping out from her grey husk to take over the stage, and every heart in attendance in their own tongue._

 _Before the first song was done, Mai and Sai had one arm wrapped around each other for the first time in months, crying happily as they tried to sing the chorus with the beloved diva._

xxXxx

Yuki very carefully looked at her mother's hair from every angle, circling her over and over as her mother sat on a stool in the bathroom.

It had been more than a few months since the hydra incident, and her mother was to start recording with the orchestra tomorrow. Her mother's hair was still a mess from the fight, but now that some of the strands could brush against her shoulders, it was an ideal time to even out the choppy look. The orchestra had talked her mother into using the recording for music videos, so she needed to look her best.

"This isn't making me nervous," Haru mentioned sarcastically, trying not to follow her daughter with her eyes. A sheet was tied around her neck, and Toby was sitting on her lap under the sheet to keep him out of trouble.

"It's just that this is the first time I've ever trimmed your hair, Mom. I want to make sure it looks good." Taking in a deep breath for courage, she walked behind her mother and gently combed through the uneven locks for a few minutes before her trembling hand pulled a pair of nice scissors from her pocket.

"Just relax, Sweetheart," Haru laughed. "If it's something to be embarrassed about, I can always shave my head."

" **No** ," Yuki answered with a determined tightness to her chin. "It's going to take long enough for your hair to grow back." Taking long even breaths, she slowly raised the scissors and began snipping. The original cut from the knife was uneven, clearly showing which arm had done the crude haircut.

She tried not to think about what had been keeping her mom's right arm busy for her to have done it with her left blade. Still trying to keep her breath even and steady, the younger girl did her best to make the cuts the same. As she slowly migrated from one shoulder to the other, she began to see the strangely mathematical aspects of the activity. " _O-oh!_ Don't move, Mom! This is going to be awesome!"

"I trust you, Sweetheart," Haru answered simply, rubbing Toby's ears under the sheet to keep him nice and pliable.

Yuki tried to keep her eye off where her hound's tail was making the sheet wag like crazy, since laughing was bound to make her miss her mark. Since she had gotten her epiphany near the middle of the cut, she had to go back and redo the first half with renewed vigor.

"A-and… okay!" She ran around her mother to look at her from the front, trying hard not to squeal while setting the scissors on the edge of the bathroom sink. "Go look!"

Haru shooed Toby off her lap before standing up and shaking stray hairs loose from the sheet around her neck. Tugging the knot loose with one hand, she took the needed three steps to look at herself in the mirror over the sink.

Yuki couldn't help but feel a bit of pride in her work. Instead of a boring even trim, she had managed to give her mother's hair a layered look that gave it more life than just laying flat. Even better, she thought it flattered her mother's head shape.

" _Yuki_!" Haru breathed through a wild smile, tearing her eyes off her reflection to beam at her child. "This is- I mean, I wasn't worried about what you'd do with yourself after you grew up! But it looks like you'll have a fantastic fall back plan if nothing else!"

Yuki had a brief mental image of tying an apron over her fancy ball gown to give Lune a quick trim before some important function. She couldn't help but laugh at the image as she reached for a broom and dustpan. _'Lune's father would need more of my help than Lune would.'_ She opened her mouth to say a career had been picked for her but forced herself to bite on her tongue. _'Right, I can't tell her. Yet.'_

"Is something wrong, Sweetheart?" her mother asked as she started running water for a bath.

Since she couldn't lie, Yuki settled for part of the truth. "Whatever the future holds for me, I'm a kid right now. I'd rather enjoy that than worry about what I'll be up to when I grow up."

Her mother beamed happily, sneaking close enough for a warm kiss to the brow. "Oh, I almost forgot! Would you mind leaving Toby behind for the next few weeks?"

Yuki looked up in surprise as her mother started hunting for the Epson salts. "Why?"

Haru dumped a good amount of salt into the bath and sealed the bag. "I need his vocals for one of my new songs. It might take a few tries to get it just- Toby! This bath's for me, you silly pooch!"

Toby had his front paws on the edge of the tub, and he was whimpering while using his big eyes to beg her to share.

"No, you naughty puppy," she cooed, picking him up to give some consoling scratches on his belly. "Sweetheart, would you mind giving Toby a bath in your own tub? I'll share a bath with my daughter, but I draw the line at sharing with a dog."

Yuki was hurt. She looked down at her shoes, clenching her teeth and fists harshly before swallowing hard. "… Don't I get a song?"

Haru froze. She eventually put Toby back down so that she could use both hands to make her daughter look up at her. "You're _okay_ with singing in public?" she asked in complete amazement. "In front of the orchestra with me for who knows how many people to see?"

Yuki briefly remembered last year's Christmas party at Bruce's mansion. Her mother had been asked to sing a favorite carol by the other guests, and had gently tried to coax her daughter into a duet.

She hadn't done it. She had hidden behind Tim until the song was over.

"… Yes. I'm sure I can do it," Yuki confirmed with determination in her eyes.

Haru beamed a slow smile before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Tell Sonya that she'd better expect a big hug from me next time we meet. This is excellent progress!"

"Is there enough time to write another song?" Yuki couldn't keep from asking.

"No, and there's probably not enough time to retrieve the ones I already wrote for you from the Refuge. I'll just ask the orchestra what bribes they'll take to practice a song we both know. Give them maybe two weeks to practice, though. Music is a magic that can't happen overnight."

Yuki smiled happily before wrapping her arms around her mother's neck for a warm embrace.

"Do you mind if I just send our song straight to the internet? It'll save me the trouble of fighting legalities _and_ I'll get to show off how happy we are."

Yuki nuzzled her face deeply against her mother's neck, taking in that familiar scent happily. "Fine by me-"

A sudden splash distracted both of them, one with a very predictable source.

"Toby! You naughty puppy!" Haru scolded again as Yuki could only laugh.

ooOoo

"Aren't you even a little worried, Haru?" Hiromi couldn't help asking as she waited outside the music room with her new friend and Baron. "They could be deciding _anything_ in there, you know."

Her brother bit back a small laugh at her concern, his own eyes on the blizzard howling on the other side of a nearby window. "Considering the fact that every person in that room thinks she walks on water, I doubt they'll choose something outside of her capabilities."

Haru's impish smile immediately distracted both of them from other concerns. "Well, technically, if you freeze it first, I can glide, dance, and race on water."

"You _can_?" Baron asked with astonishment.

Her large brown eyes flickered back to him, quirking an eyebrow in the process. "I'm talking about ice-skating."

"What's skating? Is it like levitation?" Hiromi asked with interest.

Haru bit on her lower lip to keep herself from laughing, gesturing with her head towards the blizzard through the window. "When the weather's more agreeable and the ice is thick enough, I'll show you how it's done. It's really fun, but you need to be super steady on your feet."

"That should be no chore," Baron responded confidently. _'We cats seem to have better balance than humankind.'_

Haru tried desperately not to laugh at his enthusiasm. "Well, just as long as you two are better at it than Yuki. The poor sweetheart keeps falling flat on her face unless she's holding onto me."

"You can teach Humbert first," Hiromi replied a little too quickly through a side smirk at her brother.

' _I don't need your help, Hilary!'_ he fumed silently as he tried to silence a small sense of dread.

Winters were usually short and mild in his own dimension, plus it was more common for everyone to stay inside their homes except for the usual invitations to parties. No cat had ever considered experimentation with ice other than preserving it for summer.

Haru suddenly gave a short gasp, slapping herself on the forehead. " _That's_ what I've been forgetting! Hiromi, are you any good at throwing parties?"

Baron could feel his blood freeze over at such a question. "You shouldn't-" he tried to warn, but it was already too late.

Grinning gleefully, his baby sister took the three steps needed until she and Haru were nose to nose, and she was gripping the brown hair by the shoulders. "Who is my victim and what's the occasion?" she begged with a dreadful eagerness.

"Yuki's birthday is in… twenty eight days," the mother reported after a quick check with her mental calendar. "I didn't consider that when I thought of timetables around my health and recording the new music. I probably won't be able to do much for it, but would you-"

"You're the _best_ , Haru!" Hilary gushed, squeezing her friend happily before taking off down the hall at a dead run. "Yuki's going to have the best birthday party of her **life**!"

"Not to mention her first official one," Haru noted absently to a distraught Baron. "I doubt anyone gave her one before we met, and she's been happy just to have family time after I made her mine."

Baron could only rub his forehead through an agonized groan. "Next time you want Hiromi to host any sort of event, I _beg_ you to warn me ahead of time. She can let a good idea get ahead of her a little too easily, and she's been dying to show off her new niece."

"Hey, there's plenty about Yuki to show off," Haru defended. "Besides, Hiromi has a better chance of knowing all the cats Yuki's been getting friendly with."

"Give me your word you will consult me next time?" he begged again, not about to relent. "When is your own birthday?"

"Oh no you don't," she laughed, holding up her hands while taking a few steps back. "I'm a little old for birthday parties."

' _Haru's mentally turning twelve on her next birthday. She's too proud to ask, but I bet she would appreciate_ _ **something**_ _to mark the occasion.'_ Since she enjoyed well-thought out loopholes, Baron placed his dark gray top hat over his heart. "I solemnly swear that I will not throw a party, allow certain individuals to throw you one, and will run interference if I catch hints of someone planning one without your consent."

Her melting smile quite nearly melted _him._

"All right, it's Saint Patrick's Day." She almost immediately started waving one hand with a wry smile. "Don't even start, I've heard all the jokes. And yes, I used to hunt snakes as well as rats when I was growing up."

He cocked his head in confusion.

Haru scowled out at the blizzard through the window as she let herself remember those dark days. "What's even worse is that I wouldn't have put it past the old man to have named me Patrick if Mom hadn't been quick enough to give me a name first and he was ridiculously bent on making people think I was a boy as if it weren't Saint Gertrude's Day as well, but no one ever remembers how cool she-"

"Haru," Baron interjected gently once he saw she was going to keep riling herself up. "I'm from another dimension." _'Might as well take full advantage of my 'method acting'.'_

Haru blinked back to reality and managed a sheepish laugh while turning back to him, calming down for now. "Sorry. Seventeenth day of the third month. It's a holiday where everyone wears green and shamrocks to avoid getting pinched in honor of a guy that supposedly rid Ireland of snakes."

"Ah, _that_ Patrick!" Baron exclaimed with enlightenment. "There's no 'supposedly' about the deed, he just had a little help 'behind the scenes' so to speak."

Haru gaped at him in surprise.

"I may be from another dimension, but I'm not the first of my kind to come here," he explained as straightforward as he could manage. "Didn't it strike you as odd that one could find examples like me on Egyptian artifacts?"

Oh, he had her attention now! Almost like she was magnetized, she was drawn to his side with a wild smile on her face.

"By that theory, wouldn't that mean that there are other dimensions with other types of beings?" she begged as if this very subject had been on her mind for years.

"More than can be counted," he assured her through a tolerant smile. "There was a time when travel between the dimensions was not only common but encouraged." Then he sighed tiredly. "This world was the common meeting ground since magic was not as strong or as organized as anywhere else. It seemed logical to conduct business in this world until this world's rulers started getting nervous about all the power they could never control or understand. We have found other meeting grounds since that distant time, but every now and again one of us likes to come back, stir up a ruckus, and bring back stories to the others."

Haru was amazed, and her smile was turning childish with glee. "Though if your friends are keeping an eye on you, they're robbing you of the chance to tell them about what's been going on when you take Yuki and I there."

He indulged himself by offering a deep if short embrace. "At this point, I would leave too much out if I had to summarize what's happened since Drac-"

The door opened, making both Haru and Baron look over to see Steven at last.

The old man had a barely concealed grin on his face as he eyed the two wrapped in each other's arms. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but we're ready to bargain with you."

Haru sighed, but gave Baron a stern, though ecstatic look as she released her hold on him. "This conversation is nowhere _close_ to finished, Mister Proper."

He grinned back, offering her an arm so that he could walk with her into the music hall. "I would be greatly disappointed if it was."

She returned his grin without thinking of it as Steven closed the door behind them, and then ran around to his usual place at the conductor's stand with a more childish grin than normal when Haru had anything to do with music.

"We had some heavy deliberation, but we've managed to agree on a suitable price. Does the name Cyril Ritchard mean anything to you?" Steven asked slyly.

Baron had to bite back a laugh at the sudden glee in Haru's face, releasing her arm on the off-chance his strange friend was going to do something ridiculous again.

She didn't disappoint, immediately adopting a more proud, almost fluid pose as she extended her left forefinger into a hook before she started singing in a deep male voice that was having _far_ too much fun with the role.

" _To cook a cake quite large_

" _And fill each layer in between_

" _With icing mixed with_ _ **poison**_

" _Until it turns a tempting green._ "

"Okay, hold on," Steven laughed, still smiling happily as Baron struggled to hide a chuckle behind a gloved hand. "I thought you would. Can you make it sound like the director is singing Hook's part?"

The glee in Haru's face drained out almost as quickly as it had appeared. She dropped the overdramatic pose and crossed her arms like a stern parent. "I could do that in a heartbeat, but the answer is no."

Baron blinked, lowering his hand to stare at her in surprise. "Do my ears deceive me, or did you turn down a new opportunity to mock Drac?"

She managed a soft smile in his direction. "Baron, I can mock Drac until the end of time and never get bored of it. But I've tried mocking him in his own voice before and… it didn't have the desired effect on him." A shudder racked her body.

A flutist scratched around one ear in confusion. "Is he one of the oddballs that finds it attractive when someone imitates him?"

" **Yes** ," Haru groaned while covering her face with one hand. "I don't want anything to distract him from how dead he is if he pushes my patience again, and I can flat out guarantee that going as full-scale as I'd like on making him sound like Captain Hook will be a distraction for him."

"Oh, he won't find out," a trombonist tried to assure her, but cut himself off at the highly skeptical look on her face.

"While I am not permitted to confirm or deny the rumor, I have heard tale that the castle is littered with stealth cameras," Baron decided to let slip even though he was certain Haru already suspected it. "I don't think I would be all that surprised to find out that he has security footage in his hospital room."

"Or that he won't take a quick refresher on what's been going on in his absence once he's well enough to return," Haru concluded, keeping her arms folded. "So is there a back up plan, or do I just borrow a guitar?"

"I win!" one of the drummers cheered happily, dropping his drumsticks on one of the drums in order to reach behind him and pull out an accordion with an ecstatic smile on his lips.

Baron ordinarily would not associate any one work with the instrument, but after watching an average of one 'cat formula' movie a week since teaching his niece the memory spell, he instinctively knew what the back-up plan was.

As did Haru. She blinked before turning to face him carefully. "I won't force you, you know. I could easily grab one of the musicians that aren't needed for that piece."

"Nope! Baron or nothing!" the accordionist demanded, belting out a few of the beginning notes as the other musicians quickly changed the music sheets in front of them, not looking as disappointed as they could have been, given the change of plans.

' _It would make her happy, and we could end this argument.'_ Straightening himself up with a deep breath, the feline lord managed a smile for his future wife. "I'm afraid it's been a while since I've danced, but if you're willing to be patient with me, I will do it."

He was immediately rewarded with one of her radiant smiles that seemed to tighten her hold on him.

"I'll lead until you feel comfortable," she promised, leading him a short distance from the musicians.

It was foolishness to be this nervous about standing like this with the woman! He had been carrying her for months at this point, so why should getting his hand placed on her perfectly sloped waist be that much of a bother on his senses? He hated himself for it, but even feeling the rope-like scars through her simple purple shirt were making him want to hold her closer than the dance called for.

The accordion also wasn't helping matters as the musician started the song.

"Just relax, Baron," Haru whispered gently enough for his ears alone as she gently gripped his shoulder and held his other hand in her own. "We're two friends having a bit of fun to make an orchestra happy now and a little girl happy later. You can trust me."

He smiled, almost clumsily letting her lead him through the rather simple steps. He allowed his response to be just as soft, strangely feeling the need for an explanation. "My apologies. My ex-fiancée despised dancing, so I never really got that much practice other than tutors when I was a lad, and I wasn't all that enamored with it myself." _'I was deathly afraid of making Louise jealous back then. I wonder if anything would have changed if I_ _ **had**_ _simply asked another girl to dance.'_

She smiled gently in encouragement, barely flinching when he accidentally stepped on one of her feet. "I've taught worse students than you. If I can turn a wallflower into a dance instructor, this waltz will be a piece of cake for you."

Baron had to fight back an irrational flare of jealousy that he wasn't the only one privileged enough to hold Haru like this. It seemed to arouse a more possessive side he didn't think he had. _'Get a grip on yourself! She may be your future wife if you don't botch things up again, but she had a life before you! Cope with the fact!'_

Haru made a half step that was outside of her usual pattern, and Baron remembered what his counterparts usually did at this point in the music. He flung her out with one arm, a little harder than he meant to thanks to his own dark thoughts.

She yelped in surprise as she tripped at the end of the fling, making Baron quickly step close enough to keep her from hitting the floor.

He was only partially successful, with one leg and hand coming down hard on the solid stone to keep the rest of her steady.

"My apologies!" he yelped as the musicians broke off playing so they could laugh a bit.

"I-it's fine, no biggie," she panted from the surprise, wiggling herself to full height with his assistance. "No one's gets good inside of a few minutes. Ready to try again?"

Since she wasn't deterred, he nodded while firmly pushing the rest of his dark thoughts aside until a time they wouldn't hurt her.

"Look on the bright side, Baron," she told him as she nodded at the conductor to start at the beginning. "I made sure Hiromi can't watch this."

"That will be more than worth dealing with her passion for party-throwing," he agreed in a heartbeat. Come to think of it, he was having a bit easier of a time following her now that he wasn't distracted. Her tether on him wasn't quite like puppet strings, but it was impossible to miss how much easier dancing was when he let himself become completely in tune with her unspoken directions.

This had never been such fun before! He was certain of it; if dancing had been even half as enjoyable as now, he would have persisted more firmly with Louise on the matter. There was something very… satisfying about having this woman in his arms.

Right before dipping Haru on the third cycle of the song, she released enough control on him so that he could take the lead, her smile saying louder than words that he was ready for it.

'… _Interesting. It appears she can manipulate kinetic energy as well.'_

ooOoo

Yuki had to fight to keep her face expressionless as Nathaniel set a bag of jewels in front of the startled librarian, letting the top of the bag fall open enough for the woman to see the contents.

"We require a private conference room with internet connection for the next few hours, if you would be so kind," the disguised cat stated in a tone that left little room for argument. "Is one available?"

"Sir, it's required for you to call ahead and reserve a good month or more in-" the woman tried to say as her eyes stayed on the first bag's contents but fell dumb as he set a second bag on her desk.

"Be a jewel yourself, and see what's available," Nathaniel didn't quite command in his firm but quiet voice, but he may as well have. "We'll make a donation to your library as well if we get what we came for."

Suddenly realizing the jewels were for herself, the librarian nearly jumped on her computer to look over her records. "There… is one room sitting empty until eight tonight."

"We will be long gone by then," Nathaniel promised, gesturing for her to lead them. "Please lead the way."

Making sure to sweep the two bags under her desk, she nervously led the small group to a tucked away corner of the library and down a hall.

"May we have the password for the internet, or is one needed?" Nathaniel asked like Yuki had coached him earlier.

"You will be able to hook up immediately. Some days I swear it's the only reason young people set foot in libraries anymore," she grumbled, opening a specific door and sweeping her arms invitingly inward.

Nathaniel respectfully stayed behind to explain further as first the king and queen stepped in, then Lune and Yuki, and finally Muta. "We would appreciate not being disturbed, but rest assured our business will not take until the next tenants are here."

She nodded mutely as he closed the door after himself, pressing an amulet against the sturdy wood in order to mute the room from the rest of the building.

"How do humans _stand_ these bodies?!" Lune's father demanded as he tugged uncomfortably at the collar of the button-up Yuki had talked him into wearing.

"It's all they know, dear. Will you be able to retrieve the files, Yuki?" his wife asked while comfortingly rubbing one hand over his arm.

Lune had already pulled out a seat for her with a nervous smile. She gave him one in return before turning her attention to her Kindle, shrugging off her pink winter coat for now thanks to Muta's silent insistence.

"I'm already in, logging onto a popular website for videos. That will have the best selection of what we're after. Haru… Yoshioka… concerts," she tapped out, Lune sitting next to her so that he could perform a small spell to project what was on the Kindle onto the farthest wall from them.

"If you would hold off, your grace," Nathaniel urged gently as he sifted around his pockets until producing a large opal. He set it in the middle of the large wooden table with a whispered command.

At the advisor's words, a filmy mist started spilling from the opal like a fog machine and thinned out so that the room was slightly less visible than before, but with one noticeable exception.

Yuki stared at her own hands, which now seemed to be seeped in a bright pink fire that didn't burn. She saw with delight that her entire body was coated with the beautiful flames!

"That's _one_ way to prove Haru's influence means something, even without the videos," Sonya noted, since her purple flames were much subtler than the child's. She pulled out a notebook and bottle of ink, unscrewing the ink so that she could be at the ready.

Phoebus started sulking that his and his son's purple energy were also less vibrant. A glance at Nathaniel's pitiful grey smolders was unsurprising, since the cat hadn't been very gifted with magic. Even Muta's meager brown streaks were more impressive, which explained the small smirk as he stood behind Yuki's chair.

"We are ready, your grace?" the old advisor prompted, making Yuki nod and tap on the first concert on the list.

The 'screen' in front of them immediately switched to _a large stage that was nearly pitch black when compared to the excited audience._

Yuki couldn't help but feel smug that the tendrils of color emanating from the humans was pitiful even compared to Nathaniel. Still, even if their energy wasn't much, there was a lot of them.

 _The stage was completely dark, save for the small bits of color that were likely musicians getting into position during the last precious seconds before the show began. But not one of them stood out, so her mother probably had a dramatic entrance planned._

How odd. It looked like the musicians' colors were all straining towards the center of the stage, like that was where they all really wanted to be.

 _Without warning, a powerful guitar riff exploded from the stage, making the audience start screaming with appreciation as the darkness on the stage seemed to leak out and briefly smother their individual colors that very clearly began seething towards the stage, almost like an ocean wave before crashing against something solid, but indistinguishable in the dark. It was the same point that the musician's colors were straining to be, but it was no longer a strain. A red light slowly brightened and centered on a cloaked figure in that critical spot, playing on a guitar made up to resemble a surprisingly convincing scythe._

"So _this_ is where she got that guitar from," Yuki was sure she didn't need to confirm, but it still felt good to say it. But confirmation or no, her eyes were still glued to what the opal was making clear.

Her mother had no colors. Just like she had once told her daughter, it was almost as if she were wearing two heavy black cloaks instead of one, but the one over her reaper cloak seemed like the edges of it was falling apart or dissolving into black sand.

At least, where none of the humans' colors were touching her. As she continued to play, her cloak's edges seemed to cover all the now wildly fluctuating colors, but it was not smothering them. If anything, it was _enhancing_ the sparks and drawing them into her mother like a rainbow river as soon as she began singing in a low, almost hypnotic tone, artistically throwing her head back enough to let the hood fall and display her with dramatic red and black makeup and a spiky hairstyle. The makeup wasn't heavy enough to make Haru look exactly like a demon, but she definitely didn't seem human from the way she began moving in time to the music.

" _I was born to the blood of_ _ **angels**_ _,_

" _Born through_ _ **the veil of a storm**_

" _Born with a love inside me_

" _Born with a need to_ _ **perform**_ _."_

It wasn't hard to tell the barely concealed metaphors as the colors seemed to race each other in an effort to reach Haru first. It was interesting, but the more energy her cloak absorbed, the more her spiritual cloak began taking on the same colors it was absorbing. Much to Yuki's surprise, even her mother's subtle steps seemed to aid in the absorption, though they grew less subtle as the music began building up momentum.

If anyone could have been bothered to notice, Nathaniel and the queen were writing furiously in their notebooks, as if every detail were worthy of note.

But it still wasn't long until the inky darkness reached through both the Kindle and the projected screen towards the cats. Yuki smiled happily, letting her own pink flames stretch longingly for her mother's influence until they mingled, curling up against each other like two cats curiously inspecting and brushing sides until reaching a happy medium. The black in her mother's mist cloak was more than happy to let the girl's pink influence overtake the darkness, drawing in the color hungrily as it also reached out to the others in the room.

"Should I be worried?" Lune tried to say without letting his fear show, reluctant to let even a little of his purple reach the black mist that was waving in and out in front of him with almost the same enthusiasm as Toby awaited affection.

"Not about this, just relax," Yuki told him, more than happy that the connection between herself and her mother's influence was absolute. She could vaguely see that the cats other than the king were fighting the connection but decided not to worry about it for now.

" _Born with a mission,_

" _Born with a drive_

" _Born with a need_

" _With a will to survive!"_

 _Just as the song escalated to a beautiful crescendo, all of the light that had been sucked into Haru's cloak made it flair out, rising above the countless fans while still carrying every color until it hovered over the stadium like a captured rainbow. Yet there were still little tendrils of light connecting each person to the rainbow, swaying this way and that like strands of spider silk in the wind._

Yuki's connection stayed constant, though she could feel it tighten like a violin string just before a performance.

 _As if to prove that something was about to happen, the brunette tugged on a previously unnoticed button to make the front of the reaper's cloak open up and reveal the clingy red dress beneath. Everything was covered, but it was still tight enough to leave little to the imagination._

 _But it was still strange to see that one sleeve had an opening that framed the two scars that Louis had left her with._

" _Cause I'm a_ _ **Daughter**_ _of Death_

" _From my very first breath_

" _I'm a_ _ **Daughter**_ _of Death_

" _Blood red as Macbeth."_

 _It would have made sense for the final stage to be an even grander show than the rainbow umbrella. Just the absorption process was a spectacle to behold, yet the crescendo in the music seemed to be subtler for all that built-up energy._

" _I was;_

" _Raised from burning ashes_

" _Raised with tragic crime_

" _Raised from cries of chaos_

" _Raised on borrowed time."_

Yuki's heart broke at how few metaphors her mother was using to express how growing up had made her feel. This more than explained why her mother had been choosing other peoples' songs for whatever need or want Yuki felt for that comforting voice. Although it was smaller than the rainbow on the projected screen, it wasn't hard to see that the connection her flames held with her mother were echoing what was happening with the crowd. The upward rainbow of straight pink didn't arch toward her, but instead grew until Yuki was sitting in the middle of the arc that kept wavering down in an effort to wrap around her.

 _Every string of colored light suddenly inflated, making the rainbow umbrella become more of a solid rainbow bubble. All the colors were only somewhat separate, dancing around and against each other as they fought to outshine the others on the crowd below._

" _Raised by the_ _ **darkness**_

" _Raised by the_ _ **night**_

" _Raised by the_ _ **vultures**_

" _By the_ _ **claws**_ _of fright."_

 _Everyone in the audience seemed to feel what was being given back to them, since they were now twice as wild as before, jumping up and down and dancing with each other surprisingly well in their seats. Their skin tones were overcast with the still-moving lights that seemed to fluctuate with the tempo of the song, like they were trying to be one with the rainbow dancing and shining its heavenly glory._

" _Raised to be hated_

" _Raised to be loved_

" _Raised to be doomed_

" _By the powers above!"_

Yuki gaped, almost not trusting her own eyes as her mother's influence wrapped around her like a caressing tornado that made up for only being pink by reflecting different shades of it. "It's the Northern Lights!"

"The _what_?" Lune asked, only now letting some of his purple energy become drawn to the tornado around his almost betrothed.

She wheeled around on him, pointing with one hand at the untold beauty while gesturing at how her pink flames were now dancing around her. "The Northern Lights! Mom can make the Northern Lights!" she all but screamed at him, hopping out of her seat in order to start pacing. "Mom lost her power, so we need magic to see when she does it, but anyone can see it when her family does it! I guess it wasn't just that cold attic that built up her immunity to the snow and co-"

"Yuki, slow down," Renaldo begged, stopping her with one huge arm to wrap her in one of his big bear hugs.

Lune had half-stepped out of his chair to stop her himself, and seemed a bit put out that the large bodyguard had beaten him to it.

The queen regretfully left her notes on the table in order to lock eyes with the girl. "We have no familiarity with Haru's kind or what they can do. It should stand to logic that we don't know what you mean by 'northern lights', since our kind don't go out of our way to visit lands of eternal snow in any dimension."

The little girl shook her head in amazement, still muttering under her breath as she marched back to her tablet, opening a new window as her mother repeated that furious yet strangely helpless chorus. Once again she headed straight to the same website and found another video that was easily muted so it wouldn't interfere with her mother's song. "Nathaniel, will you please silence the opal for now?"

The old advisor was too professional to pout, but his expression was heavily leaning in that direction as he gently ran his finger in a circular motion over the gemstone until the room was only contained what was provided by the drab, ordinary lightbulbs overhead.

" _Now it's time to show you_

" _What I'm really all about_

" _No more pretentions_

" _No more frothing at the mouth."_

" _This_ is what I meant. Aurora borealis, the Northern Lights," Yuki stated as flatly as she could manage, starting the video with an almost defiant finger jab. Although she hadn't seen more than a few recorded glimpses of the beautiful light show before, she kept her eyes on that of her companions' to be sure they understood what they were seeing.

" _There's no use hiding_

" _All my sins deep inside_

" _I'll wear them on my shoulder_

" _Like a badge of pride!"_

They gaped, of course. It was one thing to see that dancing rainbow over a stadium, but completely another to see it splashed across the entire sky like a watercolor ballet for the whole world to enjoy.

"This is sped up footage, by the way," Yuki informed them, thinking things through a little more carefully now that she had calmed down a bit. "It's likely that Mom's the first of her kind to get into contemporary music, which is why this rainbow's a lot calmer than hers. But all this has done is raise new questions instead of answer old ones."

Nathaniel was the first to break free of the entrancing show in order to write even more furiously in his notes. "Such as 'who are her people feeding on to create that much light visible to the naked eye'?"

"Also, 'who is the one in charge of deciding who they feed on'?" Sonya offered while scribbling notes of her own.

"Uncle Arthur," Yuki answered in a heartbeat, setting down the tablet to keep thinking. "He told me when we met that his family's been in charge of keeping Mom's family out of trouble for a long time. Mom's the only one he respects because she at least gets herself back out of it."

"Who is Uncle Arthur?" Lune couldn't refrain from asking. "You usually speak of Bruce when you talk about uncles."

She beamed happily at the memory. "He's an old friend of Mom's. She once saved his life by donating blood when he was badly hurt."

"Badly hurt by what?" the king suddenly pressed, tearing his own eyes from the show to look at the girl. "What is his rank? Side occupation? Full name?"

Yuki almost answered. But even as her mouth opened, she realized that she didn't have the foggiest idea to any of that.

The worse part was that she couldn't even be sneaky and ask Bruce if her mother didn't want to talk about it. Arthur had never come up in the flesh or a conversation even once in her visits to the Wayne mansion.

The room would have been dead silent if not for her mother's ending chorus.

" _I'm a_ _ **Daughter**_ _of Death_

" _Living, filthy mess!_

" _I'm a_ _ **Daughter**_ _of Death_

" _Just a_ _ **Daughter**_ _of Death…"_

xxXxx

Author's note: This song belongs to Skye Sweetnum and Princess Ai. I've had 'Daughter of Death' pinned as Haru's theme for this story since the beginning.


	32. Pretend

A/N; Today's my birthday, so all of you are getting an early update again. Reviews make good presents, or so I've heard.

 **Chapter Thirty-Two: Pretend**

 _Do you still deny yourself? Do you still…_ _ **pretend**_ _to be human?!_

 _-King Haggard, 'The Last Unicorn'_

 **xxXxx**

 _It was finally time for his little star to shine! After careful weeks of filming and coaching her lovely voice in the privacy of his home, the moment had finally come to show these undeserving cretins why this sweet, unassuming young lady was even more Tanya than the girl he had settled for in the first movie. Even the surrounding forest seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation._

 _Her gorgeous brown eyes seemed larger than ever as she nervously took in the camera crew and handful of actors that were lingering behind them. She almost seemed to lean away from their judgmental gazes, subtly asking for his support through her first public song._

" _Forget about them, Haru," James whispered gently enough for her ears alone as he gently squeezed her shoulder through the peasant dress to make sure she knew he was behind her one hundred percent. "Just… be yourself. Do what feels right and try to charm the birds out of the trees."_

 _She thankfully gave a light giggle and relaxed slightly while smiling up at him. "I'm not a princess, James."_

 _James. He still got a thrill every time her gentle voice caressed his name._

" _You are to me," he answered with an easier grin than he had given in years._

 _But then he had to say it. The phrase that he would spend the rest of his life regretting, more than all of his other bad decisions combined. Including the one who gave him his son._

" _Make Daddy proud."_

 _She lit up like a Christmas tree at the one phrase that had never been directed at her before, straightening up until she almost seemed to grow a full foot in height as a new confidence filled her until she was nearly_ _ **glowing**_ _._

" _I'm ready when you are," she informed him, nearly running to the river where a large basket full of men's laundry was waiting for her. She knelt by the stream, took a moment to suppress her inner glow, and grabbed a pair of pants to begin the wash._

 _James took a second to mentally kick himself before deciding there would be a way to reword his feelings for her later. "All right, places!"_

 _The villain actor gave his signature sniff that said louder than words that he thought James was coddling his little protégé too much again, but obediently turned his horse back to wander a little deeper into the woods where a traveling camera crew was waiting for him._

 _The anticipation was almost too much to bear! James was nearly quivering with suppressed excitement, absently noting that Haru was already done washing the pants and had moved onto a tent-like linen shirt, humming absently to herself._

" **He** _ **never let me wash my clothes in the washer. He didn't want me getting their clothes dirty, so I had to do it in a bucket."**_

 _His blood boiled that she was no novice to peasant life, despite living in the twentieth century. How did that cold little town possibly excuse itself for treating such an angel like she was barely worthy to exist in their presence? James understood that he owed her for the handful of tips she had offered to make the movie that much more realistic, but it didn't change the fact that the world wouldn't miss much if he slipped a hitman a few grand and suggested he pay that_ _ **monster**_ _a visit._

" _Uh, sir? We're ready to start," his assistant director crackled through the radio, snapping him back to reality._

 _His almost comically small hand clenched at the device hanging off his hip to bring it to his lips. "Right, Matthew. I'll give her the signal. Start the cameras," he directed the last part of the statement through his radio and at the camera crew surrounding the quaint riverside that were going to capture this somewhat reenactment of the moment he met his angel. Once everyone present heard her, they would understand why he had completely rewritten how the villain and damsel meet._

 _Keeping his eyes on the gentle creature, he reached for the gravel by his shoes, and selected a small stone while praying that his aim would be true. There was no doubt Haru would forgive him if he accidentally hit her, but he'd never be able to forgive himself._

 _Yes! The pebble hit within two yards of her, far enough not to even splash her, but close enough to get the message across. Those glorious brown eyes flickered once in acknowledgement and began humming louder in a tune reminiscent of the song she had been practicing for weeks._

 _Then she_ _ **finally**_ _started singing!_

" _Dreams to dream,_

" _In the dark of the night_

" _When the world goes wrong,_

" _I can still make it right_

 _James was beyond grateful he had paid some of the camera men to focus on the expressions of the extras instead of on her or the villain character. He would enjoy their expressions later, but for now, all he wanted to enjoy was her song. Although her song was already flooding his mind, he could distantly hear the hoof steps coming closer to the glade._

" _I can see so far in my dreams_

" _I'll follow my dreams_

" _Until they come true._

 _James knew he should have been paying attention to whether or not his villain was in place, but the longer she sang, the harder it became to focus on anything else._

" _Come with me,_

" _You will see what I mean_

" _There's a world inside_

" _No one else ever sees_

 _The edge of his awareness acknowledged that his villain was sliding off his horse, every trace of cynicism gone from his handsome features. He was supposed to give at least one look of surprise down at the ruby ring on his finger, but even his eyes were glued to Haru like everything else had fallen out of existence._

 _James made a mental note to reshoot a few close-ups on him and edit the song over them._

 _Haru, of course, stayed obliviously focused on the task of quick and efficient washing as she seemed to offer her very soul to the forest itself._

" _You will go_

" _So far in my dreams_

" _Somewhere in my dreams_

" _Your dreams will come true._

 _The villain started stepping closer, his eyes tearing up behind his monocle, his hands clasped in front of him in a way that the ruby was plain to the eye, so it would be easy to add the special effects later._

 _But James didn't like_ _ **how**_ _worshipful this actor was looking at_ _ **his**_ _angel! He'd have to clarify some of his rules with the man later._

 _Already finished with the wash, Haru slowly rose to her feet, her gentle eyes raised to the heavens._

" _There is a star_

" _Waiting to guide us_

" _Shining inside us_

" _When we close our_ _ **ey-es**_ _!"_

 _At the beautiful climax of the song, the surrounding trees seemed to explode!_

 _The villain had drawn close enough to offer a hand to dance with her from behind as they had planned, but a swarm of wild birds swept in between him and the girl. He backed away with a stifled exclamation, staring in complete shock as birds kept flying close enough to leave trails around her, as if she were the center of a tornado._

 _Enough of Haru's mind was awake enough to remember that she was supposed to dance as well as finish the song. But instead of doing it with the villain in a dream-induced stupor, she danced with the birds instead. Her eyes were closed, her steps were sure, and her new little friends were more than happy to echo her movements. She wasn't the best dancer anyone present had ever seen, which made her even more believable, but there was still a simple charm to watching her be one with nature._

 _James gaped in total disbelief. This kind of thing didn't happen. This was a scene straight out of a Silly Symphony! This scene alone could win him an Oscar!_

' _She isn't…_ _ **couldn't**_ _be human!'_

xxXxx

"Thanks for not taking offense about this, Baron," Haru thanked him again as Robert and Harold finished setting up the dressing blind in a corner of the orchestra room. Julia was finishing scratching Toby's stomach while unclipping the leash from his collar.

"If I can't handle not being the center of your attention for a few hours, I'm not much of a friend, am I?" he asked with a gentle smile. _'If anything, I'm put out that you're wearing make-up again for the cameras.'_

She laughed a little nervously while squeezing his arm. "It's going to be weeks, Baron. I know twelve languages. Fourteen if you count sign language, but that won't do music much good."

His jaw dropped.

"It's something to keep me occupied when I'm recovering from wounds," she explained defensively, snapping her fingers at Toby to make him bark happily. "Let's go, boy. I'm really excited about this song."

Toby barked again, racing ahead until Haru called him back to where the two microphones were waiting for them.

Baron and the Moon brothers wasted no time slipping behind the screen, which only seemed like a painted landscape from the humans' side. They were soon joined by Julia who kept the leash coiled in one hand.

But thanks to an opal-based spell on the closed in side, they could still see everyone on the other side. Not in perfect detail, mind, but more like colored shadows that mimicked what the owner was doing. Most of them were barely distinct pastels, save for a cloaked figure that stood out as a stark black spider, almost chaining every person present to her with the torn edges of her cloak. Even the people surrounding the musicians with microphones and cameras were clearly visible.

Baron couldn't help but feel smug that three of the more vibrant strings were stretched right at the screen, moving slightly as the three toms experimentally shifted from side to side to make sure they were good and tied to her as they tried to subtly draw the color out of them. The tabby blinked in surprise, sneaking a peak around the screen to confirm the identity of the one standing right next to the black shadow that was now hunched over a much smaller tan shadow.

Haru was kneeling next to Toby, speaking gently as the surrounding instruments drowned out her words from this distance. It was hard to tell if any of it was getting through to him, but from his wagging tail, he was eager to at least try as she tied a microphone from a music stand a little over his head level so he could only speak instead of biting it.

Baron leaned back in and out a few times but couldn't find anyone standing close enough to really be the owner of that nearby shadow. "Do either of you know who this one is?" the lord whispered, pointing to the slightly red shadow that was hovering close enough to be a second shadow to the pitch black one. He even shifted to the middle of the screen in order to let each one peek out a separate side; imitating his own back and forth motions after Harold let Julia have a turn.

"Maybe that trombonist?" Robert offered in a soft whisper.

"No, he's that one," Baron argued, pointing to a magenta one.

Harold went back and forth a few more times, shaking his head. "I can't see anyone _that_ close to her. It's a strong tie, isn't it?"

"Maybe it's a familiar," Julia offered, but there wasn't time for further discussion.

Haru finished leaning over Toby and grabbed something that more than likely was the other microphone. "Ready," she called out to the conductor, whose pink light was nearly bubbling as much as the man was as he bit back a squeal of excitement. They could hear the surrounding camera men get ready until the elected director made the gesture for them to start.

Steven tapped his baton and started the music with a flare.

Haru's shadow self seemed to shudder in pleasure at the first notes, making the black ribbons ripple like an ocean wave between her and each person as their colors began leaking toward her. She began her song with an almost hypnotic vocalization.

" _Kept away while the earth cries_

" _Swept away by all his lies._

" _Not ready to go, but it's time to leave_

" _Already too low to get up and plead."_

It was every bit as beautiful as their majesties had told him. Baron was nearly breathless with appreciation from his side of the dressing blind as the ribbons flowed up and down as if they had become a rainbow ocean with Haru as its center. He couldn't even mind the slight tugging on his string that encouraged a vibrant green to flow and stain the edge of her darkness as she began stepping in time with the music, though still staying close to her daughter's pet.

" _Made to feel something inside,_

" _Far too real, too much pain to hide._

" _Not ready to run, but my feet won't stay_

" _Already too done for these birds of prey."_

On cue, the tan string connecting her to Toby flailed like a coachman's whip, making the little basset hound give a few hard barks into the microphone over his head.

Baron blinked. Come to think of it, the lyrics sounded a little like what he had overheard her discuss with Yuki concerning her lack of magic while avoiding actually using the word.

" _Woof, woof, there's no looking back_.

" _One shot of freedom through the looking glass_

" _Bow wow, no more broken beast._

" _Rip off the collar with a broken leash."_

Baron's mouth fell open as Toby was spiritually pushed to make the same bark as before. The tabby lord tried to think of something to say, even though he had already promised that he and his entourage would remain perfectly silent until the song was over. _'She's actually talking about this? In_ _ **public**_ _?!'_

Haru twisted the top half of her body around like it was a spinning top, though the now multi-colored ribbons connecting everyone to her were beginning to look like they belonged to a puppet master.

" _Tied up with knots that won't unwind_

" _Fed up with cruel dreams acting kind_

" _Not ready to jump, I won't look down_

" _All ready to dump everything around."_

There was no way around it. She was absolutely talking about not just her loss of magic, but about how life had treated her since then. Baron had felt cut off and lost after Louise had broken his heart, but now he could feel how lost Haru had felt, going through so much of her life without a true ally by her side.

The ribbons had solidified into a rainbow sheet that danced throughout the room, showering everyone within it with pastel light that only seemed to encourage all it touched to throw itself harder into her song.

Baron wasn't contributing anything more than his support, but it was impossible to miss the raw emotion Haru was putting into her music. It was a strange sort of helplessness, as if the complete lack of choices life had presented to her had forced her into a route that she never would have considered if something better had opened up.

She had opened up to him, and to Yuki and Bruce, but there were still things she was holding back. Was there anyone she had to talk to without needing metaphors or glossing over messy details?

Haru's head was pointed at her free hand, but since the screen was focusing on energy shadows, there was no way to read her expression.

" _Look at my hands what they reveal_

" _Shook by one glance what they conceal_

" _Not ready to hit what I just can't see_

" _All ready to quit what I can't set free."_

That last part puzzled Baron. Has Haru ever quit on anything that needed to be set free?

Oh, right. Drac.

" _Woof woof there's no looking back_

" _One shot at freedom through the looking-glass_

" _Bow wow no more broken beast_

" _Rip off the collar with the broken leash!"_

Haru wasn't broken. She had no need of a leash. Whether her would-be masters liked it or not, there wasn't a single person on this or any other world that truly held power over her.

Baron had to stifle back a laugh. It was probably safer for everyone if Haru never gained a master, despite Drac's hopes. He couldn't _wait_ for his own 'master' to be thoroughly disappointed, and perhaps further dismantled.

Haru repeated the chorus a few more times, ending the song when Toby sat down on his haunches and barked a little more calmly than before. Giving him a warm smile, she knelt down and started rubbing his ears as the rainbow calmed down and started to separate into strands once more.

Yet there were still tendrils of the pastel rainbow running through her dark shadow, briefly allowing the light to linger in her veins.

"Who's a good boy? Who did a perfect job helping me? You! That's right, you're a good boy!" she cooed, making the dog almost melt between her loving hands.

Baron forced himself to curb his jealousy to look up at the red shadow again. It might have been his imagination, but it seemed more solid than before, still floating close to Haru's huddled shadow.

"A familiar," Baron murmured thoughtfully. _'This wasn't magic, yet I can still taste the_ _ **power**_ _hanging in the air.'_ Turning away from the blind in case his hunch was correct, he pulled his glove off and concentrated on making a tendril of fire appear on one finger.

Instead, each fingertip gained a flame before they trailed to the center of his hand to become a fireball.

The three Moon siblings jumped back in surprise.

"What are you _doing_?!" Robert hissed, making his lord close his hand to demolish the flame.

' _This is more serious than we suspected,'_ Baron informed them mentally, not trusting himself to speak aloud and possibly alert a nearby human. _'Haru may not have magic herself, but Yuki understated what her influence can magnify.'_

"Julia?" Haru called, making the cat in question jump almost fearfully. "I think now would be a good time for you to take Toby. He'll want to sing the rest of the songs, and this is the only one I needed him for."

"Um, yes. As you wish, Haru," she managed to stutter out, edging her way out from behind the blind. "But aren't you going to use your other tongues?"

"I wouldn't want to wear him out, would I, boy?" Haru cooed while rubbing his exposed tummy. "If I do 'Broken Leash' once a day, he'll be fine."

He whimpered happily in response, only offering a disappointed whine when Julia picked him up and kept scratching to keep the pup compliant as she made for the door.

Haru then turned her attention to everyone else in the room with a stern expression. "I don't care if anyone isn't thirsty; drink some water. Now's a good time if anyone needs a bathroom break. Baron? You and your crew aren't exempt."

The cat in question almost shyly walked around the screen. She looked as normal as she ever did, but his mind couldn't un-see the giant red shadow that he now knew always loomed over her. "Are all your songs so… _personal_ , Haru?" Baron couldn't help asking.

Her answering smile was almost sad as she twirled the microphone in one hand like a baton. "You didn't think I got this popular with vague love ballads, did you?" She then scowled. "That's partially why I was raising Yuki in seclusion. The last thing she needs is to get used to complete strangers breaking into the house because ' _they got my message that was just for them and no one else!'_ despite the fact that I haven't sung whatever ballad they were fixated on in years." She gave another groan and shake of the head as if fighting back a headache.

' _I don't care what it costs me. Yuki_ _ **will**_ _tell me how to get at the rest of her songs,'_ Baron couldn't resist swearing to himself.

ooOoo

A week after recording started, Yuki burst into the music room with a wide smile on her face as she tried to regain her breath from a long run. "Today's… the day… I get… to sing… with you?"

Haru beamed happily, throwing her arms wide open to accept the almost violent tackling hug from her beloved child. "Yep! Everyone's finally ready for us!"

Baron had barely moved from his place behind the dressing screen whenever he knew Haru was in this room, anymore. His queen had thankfully given heed to his suggestion that Haru would probably sense if more of their kind were watching her during the recordings, and he certainly had no problem with replaying the memories for her majesty's examination and experimentations during the evening after Haru and Yuki retired.

But the tawny lord was forced to admit to himself that research wasn't the only reason he was being so militant concerning Haru's music.

The effect of the opal spell was beautiful. Yuki's pink flames splashed into Haru's darkness, which then turned into pink flames with a faint purple tinge as it wrapped around the child again and again until there was no distinction between them at all. All other connections turned almost insubstantial by comparison.

Even stranger, Yuki also seemed to have a familiar hovering over her, although it was more misshapen than her mother's.

"Did you have a good day, Sweetheart?" Haru cooed while nuzzling her daughter's hair.

"You bet. Oh, right, I should have changed clothes before coming down here," the girl fretted while looking at her mother's slightly nice casual wear and at her own fancy lilac dress, but Haru shushed her with a gentle hug.

"I'll take on anyone that says a word. Now come on, it's an old favorite," her mother assured her daughter, wrapping one arm around her child's shoulders as they walked back to where the microphones and musicians were waiting for them.

Baron recognized the beginning tune as the first song he had ever heard out of this world, back when he watched Haru and Yuki drive away from their seemingly little home. His lips curled into a rueful smile as he remembered how startled he was at his niece's sweet singing voice.

" _Listen, Yuki,_ " Haru crooned, making a fresh wave of love wash over the child nearly bouncing in her little boots with excitement.

" _Ain't no mountain high,_

" _Ain't no valley low,_

" _Ain't no river wide enough, Yuki!_ "

Even though Baron couldn't see any details through the opal spell, he was more than certain Yuki was smirking happily as her shadow lovingly gripped one of her mother's hands.

" _If you need me, call me,_

" _No matter where you are,_

" _No matter how far._ "

Baron's family had made a name over the centuries for bravery, sorcery, and creative problem-solving, but no one born a member of the von Gikkingen family had ever been accused of being musically gifted until Haru decided to break yet another tradition over her knee.

Baron couldn't fight back a smile as he wondered how many more of their children would break that tradition. There was simply no chance that all of Haru's natural offspring would be void of musical talent.

He had to admit, there was _definitely_ a part of him that was looking forward to seeing Haru dance and sing like this with more of their own little ones. Even if it was in the library and risking a scolding from more than one librarian, he could hardly wait!

" _Knowing no rain… or_ _ **winter's cold**_ _,_

" _Can stop me, Mommy!_ " Yuki sang out purely as her mother twirled her around.

Baron felt a cold chill rush up his spine as he remembered how they met, even as their mingled auras rained pink and purple light down on everyone in the music hall until their love could nearly be _tasted_ in the air.

Haru's smile fell upon everyone in the room like an ocean's wave as she picked her daughter up by the waist to swing her over her head. " _No, no, Yuki!"_

" _Because you are my_ **world** _!_ " the little girl declared proudly, sneaking in a hug around her mother's neck when the strange woman tried to set her down while making a promise of her own.

" _If you're ever in trouble,_

" _I'll be there on the double._

" _Just send for me, Yuki!_ "

How in the name of codfish had it taken this long to see Haru for herself? She could have sung this to almost anyone on the planet, and it would still apply! If what he had read from those trunks were of any indication, she didn't even really require being sent for before stepping up!

Baron gave himself another swift mental kick for good measure.

ooOoo

King Phoebus slammed his fist on the armchair with an enraged howl. "Just what _are_ you?!" he bellowed at the mirror that was overflowing with pink and purple flames as well as music.

Queen Sonya put her hand on her husband's arm to calm him as she stared at Nathaniel, who was standing close enough to the mirror to get enveloped by the pastel power.

His gifts had always lain more in the direction of intellect than magic, but for the first time in his life, he was able to use his magic to lift something heavier than a single scrap of paper. His eyes were large and filled with wonder as a set of feather quills danced shakily before him with the strain of concentration.

"She can't hear you, your majesty," Baron carefully informed his monarch from the mirror as his memory of Haru and Yuki twirled together as if at the center of a pink and purple tornado. "This is only a memory, after all."

Their lovely voices contrasted and complimented each other as they continued the final strain of the song, ending it with a heartfelt embrace that even a complete fool could have recognized as genuine and unrehearsed.

 _Haru's memory could be seen happily rubbing her face against her daughter's soft hair before giving a curious look to one of the servants as the pink energy finally started to calm down._

Nathaniel did his best not to show his disappointment as the feather quills slowly floated back to the small table next to him.

" _We got it! You two make cinematic gold!" the human gushed as he poked his head out from behind the metal contraption._

" _Thank you," Haru answered, still snuggling her adopted daughter like the treasure she was. "It's been a great day of recording, everyone! Enjoy the rest of it as you like! Coming, Baron?" she called with a warm smile while handing the two microphones off to a servant that had been attending one of the large lights._

" _Naturally," Baron answered as he stepped from behind the dressing blind._

The feline lord tried to end the memory before the royals saw the awestruck look on his face or the thick green energy cord with which Haru had him bound but didn't quite manage it. He smiled nervously, now that his image was in the mirror. "As you can see, Haru's influence multiplies almost astronomically where Yuki is concerned," he supplied in a loud tone as if he thought he could distract the royal pair.

The king gave an exasperated growl. "This has gone on long enough. I want answers about Lady Haru, and I want them-"

"Not now, dear," Sonya admonished, rubbing his arms lovingly. "The game isn't over until Drac comes back. How much longer until he starts making a nuisance of himself, Baron?"

"Roughly two and a half months, your majesty," Baron reported with mixed satisfaction and resignation.

Phoebus gave an incredulous scoff. "Why are you two bent on drawing this out? Just tell the girl what the rat's plans for her are. Then hand her a weapon, and she'll take care of the problem for us so that we can bring her here and find out what she is!"

"Please don't tempt me," Baron begged with an agonized expression. "Drac has already given the order that my flesh will turn as stiff as stone if I try to warn her."

"So get Hilary to do it! She never stops talking anyway, so let's put her chattering to good use!" the king bellowed. But even he was caught off-guard when the young lord started laughing.

It wasn't even a polite chuckle. It was an honest laugh from a joke that was only amusing due to its strong ties to truth. It went against every impulse the lord had followed since his aborted wedding day.

His queen was also staring in surprise. "Lady Haru's company is softening you _that_ much?"

The baron they both remembered from years before managed a warm smile once he had managed to calm down. "In my defense, your majesties… Haru gives _very_ warm hugs."

' _I really should see if I can have one next time I see her,'_ Sonya promised herself before her friend spoke again.

"Your majesties, I've read through the mail she's received from adoring fans. It's cost her a great deal to only kill when there is no other choice, but she is well respected for it. If the last thing she can leave this world is her reputation, we owe it to her to make it obvious that Drac forced her into a corner. If she does it now, it could cost her everything she's been fighting for since she began her journey. It would be more prudent to… ensure she has all the equipment she will require for when the proper time presents itself," Baron offered with an evil smirk.

At that, the king grinned wickedly. "Done."

xxXxx

A/N; Songs in this chapter are 'Dreams to Dream' from Fieval Goes West, 'Broken Leash' from Princess Ai, and 'No Mountain High Enough' by I honestly have no idea, but not me.


	33. Years

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Years**

 _But there's nothing in nature that freezes your heart like years of being alone._

' _Scrooge' from 'A Muppet Christmas Carol'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Haru moaned miserably as she tossed and turned in the giant luxurious bed. "Come on," she growled at herself. "You're dead tired, in a nice warm bed, and not even a mouse is stirring."_

 _She immediately regretted saying that last part as the rest of the poem began reciting itself in her head. With an exasperated yell, she finally sat up and crawled to the side of the bed that had a lamp._

 _The brunette surveyed her fancy hotel room from her place on the red-draped bed. It had more space than the ground floor of the house she had grown up in, someone else now took care of the little mess that she actually created, and it had been a long day._

 _On her express wishes, there was not a single holiday touch to her suite, but the red of her comforter made the swirling snow seem all the paler outside the large windows. That was all it took to remind her what day it was._

 _She gave an almost uncaring look to the clock, which read that it was even earlier on Christmas morning than impatient children would dare to try waking their parents. Her lower lip quivered as she rearranged some of the pillows behind her back for a seated position._

 _Haru tucked her brown hair behind one ear, glad that no one was around to see her grief. It wasn't that she_ _ **wanted**_ _to do a Christmas concert. The timing had worked out just right for the one that had booked her, and Haru had learned by now that there was no point in trying to explain to anyone why she didn't want to sing a single carol._

 _Instead of bringing up her personal issues, she had simply smiled her way through the songs where appropriate, gave them the due respect, all while inwardly kicking herself for her hypocrisy._

' _It didn't have to be this way,' a little voice in her head murmured. 'Any number of men would have been happy to share this day with you.'_

" _It wouldn't have worked out," she snapped out loud, throwing off the thick covers for a glass of water. "Men want what I can't give. Louis made that more than publicly clear." 'Though it makes me wonder why men chase me at all after that disgusting interview.'_

 _It also didn't help that none of her pets in the past six years have lasted past a few months, silently illustrating what her life would look like if she stayed in the normal world for much longer. She had just plain given up on animal companionship after two years out of sheer depression._

 _After swallowing the last of her water, Haru dully looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror._

 _Still no sign of aging. Despite getting close to forty, she still had the slim, athletic trim of a teenager. People would start asking questions soon if she tried to delay Diana's offer of sanctuary any further._

 _This was the last concert she would ever give to the world she knew. There was no telling what work Diana's mother would have for her when the time came to leave, but at least Haru wouldn't have to lie through her teeth anymore._

 _The brunette had to admit she was looking forward to that part. To be with people that really did know her and how desperate her struggles were… Haru sighed happily at the thought as she climbed back into bed._

 _She still couldn't sleep. Her scarred body did belly flops, rolls, and even threw her lower legs onto the mountain of pillows while her head dangled off the side of the bed in a vain attempt to find a position that would allow sleep to come._

 _Nothing was working._

" _It's not like I don't want someone to spend Christmas with," Haru muttered to herself out loud. "But Bruce had to stay in Gotham, and I bought Felicia that holiday trip to Fiji before she told me about Japan. It wasn't refundable, end of discussion."_

 _But deep down, she knew they weren't really what she wanted. Felicia was amazing and efficient, but there was only so much confiding Haru could place in her. That went for Bruce and his boys as well, though she didn't like to dwell on it._

 _What Haru really wanted, more than anything her reputation or money could buy… was one person she could confide in completely. Tell the truth about her mother without getting locked up in a loony bin, for instance. The only ones that knew the truth about her heritage were a little on the busy side to just hang loose with her, but what could she do about it?_

 _Thanks to Diana, there were probably plenty of new friends waiting for her in Themyscira, but they weren't here with her right now._

 _Haru tried to hold back a sob before remembering there was no one present to witness her weakness._

 _Most of the time she could handle the necessity of not having a family yet, but tonight was not a night for ignoring the central fact of her life._

 _It would be stupid to even adopt a child at this point. She was well-known for having a childish streak once there was no danger, but if the humans ever found out just how much of an overgrown child she truly was, it would spell nothing but trouble. And even if she could keep it covered until the kid didn't need her anymore, how could she possibly explain that with enough time, she could pass for her own grandchild with little trouble? What adult could possibly think of her as a parent when she barely looked old enough for a driving permit?_

" _I wish you were still with me, Dad," Haru tried so hard not to sob, burying her face into an askew corner of the red quilt. 'I could be a little girl the rest of my life if I was yours alone.'_

 _Were there little ones where she was going, or were they all grown warriors? As immortals, Haru knew her chances weren't good for finding someone on that island that was at her mental level. But at least she wouldn't have to keep burying friends like she would if she stayed in the normal world. The_ _ **last**_ _thing she wanted to do was attend Bruce's funeral as well as her true father's. Just her true father's had nearly broken her._

 _Around five in the morning, Haru was even more exhausted than she was before getting into bed the night before, but her patience was gone. What was the point of staying in another country for the holidays if all she was going to do was mope about it? Especially since she only had an odd three more months to enjoy being able to go wherever she wanted without requiring royal permission._

 _Haru threw off the covers for the last time, sending three more pillows flying off the bed in the process. Very carefully, she picked out a basic wool sweater and leggings that would fade into the background if anyone saw her. Snow and ice had never really bothered her, but she pulled on a pair of knee-high boots anyway. Haru made quick work of the makeup needed to only cover her two facial scars, threw a long blue overcoat over herself and rammed a wool hat onto her head._

 _Checking herself in the mirror to be sure that no one would take special notice of her at a glimpse, Haru marched purposefully to the door after pocketing her wallet and a few small weapons where she could get at them in a hurry in case she ran across another idiot._

" _A walk may not fix my problems, but a distraction will do the trick for now."_

xxXxx

Yuki's feet had grown unbearably heavy. She tripped while coming through the full body mirror that had been placed in her room so that the vanity mirror wouldn't require all the constant crawling.

Normally her uncle would be waiting for her to keep the mirror way open, but he was using a small charm as a sort of doorstop spell for tonight so he could keep Haru company.

"Ow," Yuki muttered non-committedly after making a faceplant onto the green carpet. "Don't bother moving me, Muta. This is plenty comfortable."

He laughed warmly while scooping her into his strong arms. "Sorry, little lady. Your mother insisted on seeing you when you got back, remember?"

Yuki yawned while making herself comfortable against his shoulder. "Then could you grab my pajamas before heading to Mom's room? I want to spend tonight with her since I couldn't spend today with her."

Instead of arguing that it was improper, the large bodyguard nodded in understanding, opened her wardrobe enough to pick out a proper nightgown, and flung it over his other shoulder like a towel before leaving the room.

Yuki was already half-asleep by the time Jeremy was knocking on her mother's door. Which was odd, since the Moon brother on guard usually just opened the door to announce visitors.

"My lady? They're back!" he called out, making some kind of hurried preparation go on within as Toby barked happily.

The little girl in his arms wanted to be curious, but to be honest, she was just too tired to care.

"Just a second! Thanks, Baron," Haru tried to whisper, but that meant little to feline ears this close to the door.

"Psst. The amulet?" the guard reminded, making Muta hurriedly unclasp the chain from around the kitten's neck.

It was a good thing there weren't any witnesses in the hallway, or the brothers would have had trouble explaining why or how a large white kitten melted into a familiar human girl, though still in a fancy pink party dress. Muta hurriedly pocketed the amulet as Yuki fought feebly to keep sleep away.

"Okay, come in!" Haru called after a while.

Jeremy opened the door wide enough for his brother to carry the little duchess through, to where Haru and Baron were eagerly waiting.

"What did your sister _do_ to her?" the young mother demanded while gently taking her child from the large cat as Toby danced around them with a needy whine. "My poor baby looks like she's been hit with a tranquilizer."

"Nothing bad happened," Muta was quick to insist before the lady had a chance to get angry. "It was a very exciting party, and Hiromi forgot to consider that the guest of honor doesn't have as much stamina as an adult."

"I'm fine, Mom," Yuki managed to slur through her exhaustion, weakly raising a hand for a thumbs up gesture. "You can hug Sonya later for reining Hiromi in enough that I didn't need to spend the night there."

Haru smiled, cuddling her child close as Muta threw the little nightgown over one of the woman's shoulders. "Thanks, Muta. How about you spend tonight with me?" Haru asked while taking the girl into her bathroom to quickly change out clothes.

"Please? It's my favorite way of ending a birthday, Yuki begged, fighting as hard as she could to keep her heavy eyelids from closing.

It was such a struggle that Yuki felt more than saw her mother's warm smile. Before the girl really registered it, she was in the cute nightgown and being laid out on her usual side of the bed. She could feel the weight of her dog almost immediately next to her, making the child sleepily wrap an arm around her pet as a familiar tongue took a swipe at her cheek.

"It appears I had best leave so as to not disturb her rest. I'll speak firmly with Hilary about wearing her out this badly," Uncle Humbert could be heard promising as a soft rustle of clothing spoke of a tender hug.

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks for being a part of our lives," was the last thing Yuki could understand from her mother before finally sinking into peaceful oblivion.

ooOoo

Yuki was still in heaven when she woke up, and the first thing she saw was her sweet mother's face. Haru was already awake but staying completely still as she happily gazed at her child.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she teased gently. "Ready to talk about the party now?"

Yuki nodded while scooting close enough to sink into those warm arms. "Aunt Hiromi invited lots of people, but I still had fun. There were jugglers and musicians and the games!" she groaned in both appreciation and remembered exhaustion. "So. Many. Games. Do me a favor, Mom. When you get married, don't let Aunt Hiromi do the planning if she's willing to go _that_ far for just a birthday party."

Haru rolled her eyes with a smile. "Why do I even bother wasting breath saying that won't happen?"

"Beats me," Yuki countered with a giggle. "The food was really good, and Aunt Hiromi volunteered to keep my presents at her place until we move there. Hope that was okay?"

Haru nodded without much hesitation. "It'll be safe from Drac's grasp, at least. If I hadn't focused on only packing the essentials for coming here, I'd ask to do the same for my things. Okay, Sweetness, I've got a confession to make."

Yuki propped her head up on one elbow against a pillow, keeping an arm around a sleeping Toby.

The older woman smiled guiltily. "Your birthday snuck up on me this year. I know I'm usually on top of-"

"You've been busy," Yuki interrupted, covering her mother's mouth with one hand. "This is why you retired after adopting me, you didn't want things like this to happen. I'm not angry, and Aunt Hiromi made sure I got 'a proper celebration'. Please don't stress over this."

She could feel her mother's mouth twist into a grin before her hand was gently taken off.

"All I was going to say is 'would you mind waiting until Christmas for the one present I have?' It's not quite done yet, so I need a little more time."

Yuki smiled, nodding without hesitation. "Sonya says we're about to go into _two_ weeks of a big festival, but I already cleared it with her that I spend Christmas day with you."

Her mother's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Dang, they _are_ traditional!" She then sighed and sank back onto her pillow. "Thank heaven we don't do that here, anymore. Christmas was depressing enough being only one day out of the year before our paths crossed."

Yuki nodded in full agreement, taking full advantage of being able to snuggle up to her mother on a cold December morning.

"Do you think any of our new friends will get upset that I forgot to get them anything?" Haru asked, her body suddenly tensing up from the realization.

Yuki tried to giggle at the worry, but a yawn got in the way. "You already took care of it. Uncle Humbert's alive, and you're helping him remember how to be happy. Good luck topping that in anyone's eyes."

Haru wrinkled her nose but was forced to nod her agreement. "Then I'll focus on the standard gift certificate to a fancy restaurant for Bruce and the boys. Do you have _any_ idea how hard it is to shop for rich guys that have everything?"

It was her standard complaint whenever a special occasion rolled around for her dear friends. But really, when shopping for a billionaire, what else could she do?

Her daughter laughed nervously, trying not to remember how many shops in the cat dimension Aunt Hiromi took her to until she knew something suitable for Prince Lune for the holidays.

ooOoo

Something was tickling her nose.

Something was going to die.

Yuki groaned as she tried to bat the pesky thing away with one hand. "Toby, attack," she mumbled into her coziest pillow.

It was her mother's giggle that woke her up. Still half-asleep, she unthinkingly stretched like a cat before yawning.

Halfway through the yawn, she remembered what day it was. "Christmas!" she squealed, bouncing off her bed in order to tackle her mother to the ground. "It's Christmas! Happy anniversary, Mommy!"

Haru happily snuggled her little girl instead of complaining about being tackled. "Happy anniversary, my snow angel! Merry Christmas, Toby," she added when the blood hound leapt onto them for a dog pile with a happy bark. "I know I should have waited until you woke up naturally, especially with that ongoing party you've been at for a week, but I just finished your present, and I couldn't wait any longer."

' _Heart_ _ **and**_ _mind of a child,'_ Yuki couldn't help thinking through a wide grin and nuzzle to her mother's neck. "So what, you stayed up the whole night finishing it?"

"Pretty much. I can catch up tonight," Haru retorted, rising to her feet while keeping her child in her arms.

"Wait, put me down, Mom!" the little girl begged as she remembered. "I have a gift for you, too."

Haru blinked in surprise but obediently set her daughter on the green carpet. "When did you go shopping? And with whom?"

"Sonya, Aunt Hiromi, and Renaldo the day you tried to teach Uncle Humbert how to skate," Yuki explained as she knelt by her bed and pulled out a decently sized box wrapped in fine pink silk instead of wrapping paper. "Sonya said there was nothing wrong with mixing education with meeting respectable shopkeepers."

Haru laughed a little nervously at the memory of skating with Baron, even blushing as she accepted the box. "Why don't we move operations to my room?" she suggested while curiously testing the weight of her present. "I love Toby and everything, but if I give him his Christmas present first, I won't have to worry about him doing anything to yours."

Yuki stopped at the door with a gasp. "I _knew_ I forgot someone's present!"

Toby pawed at one ankle with a whimper like he understood the problem.

"You know she loves you very much, Toby," Haru assured the pooch, carefully balancing her gift on one hip to scratch at his ears. "It's been a busy year for all of us, please don't hold anything against her. Besides, you'll like my present so much you won't even remember the slight."

The blood hound gave her a mournful glance while turning his head enough to give an awkward lick at her forearm.

"You're a good boy," she cooed at him, giving an encouraging smile to her daughter. "I already get to be her mother, so I wouldn't have noticed if she had skipped me, too."

"I would have," Yuki muttered, opening the door to her room and nearly pouncing on Jeremy for a hug. "Merry Christmas, Jeremy!"

"Merry Christmas, you- Yuki!" he remembered at the last second, giving a sheepish grin to Haru while opening the door for the girls.

"Is guarding me really still necessary, Jeremy?" Haru asked, giving him a fond touch on the shoulder as she passed into her own room.

"If the rat happens to stop breathing, we'll see," he countered, giving them a roguish grin as he closed the door after them.

Toby had made a beeline for a plain paper bag next to the vanity bench, sniffing it excitedly. The mother set her gift on her vanity bench and opened up the bag for him.

Inside was a giant bone with plenty of meat still on it.

"I hope this makes up for any disappointments this morning," she teased the ecstatic dog, who was now hopping around her with his tail wagging furiously.

"Yeah, he won't remember anything," Yuki giggled as her mother set him up with the bone in the bathroom, where she even had a plate ready to set the bone on to keep him happily occupied.

Haru came back into the room, nearly bumping against her daughter who was holding the silk-wrapped parcel out to her again.

"You always give better presents than me, Mom. But I think I might win this year."

Her mother laughed at her, sitting on the edge of the bed before taking back her present. "Gift-giving isn't a competition, pumpkin."

"It's a _friendly_ competition," Yuki insisted, nearly quivering in excitement for her mother's reaction. Most years it was Tim that took her shopping for her mother's gift during their holiday stay in Gotham, and it was quality time she always looked forward to.

But shopping in the cat dimension had literally been an entirely different experience.

Haru's breath caught in her throat as she unveiled a beautifully crafted wooden box with a red chestnut stain, covered with carved images of a rolling shoreline and different sea shells tastefully depicted as borders and further decoration on the sides and edges. "Sweetheart, this must have cost a _fortune_!"

Yuki giggled at the reaction. "That's not the present. That's just the case."

Giving her daughter an incredulous look, she clicked the shell-shaped latch and opened it to reveal a dark blue velvet interior, cradling the contents in individual places within.

With large awestruck eyes, Haru picked up one of the custom glass-blown knitting needles to study the swirling color variations.

Which were more than a little reminiscent of the Northern Lights. As were the various stitch markers, scissors, and other knitting notions carefully tucked inside individual velvet bags within their little niches.

"There's this genius glass smith over where Sonya lives," Yuki told her excitedly. "She's developed a way to make her glass really hard to break. She can do anything between weapons and small figurines, but I thought you'd want something useful, and I didn't think you'd like me touching anything like a dagger without being there-"

Haru had to carefully set the box aside to grab her daughter with a fierce embrace. She buried her face into her child's hair, making it very easy to hear the sobs she was trying to keep in check. "… Thank you…. Thank you…"

Yuki didn't think the gift would affect her this deeply but didn't hesitate to tighten her hold on her mother. She nuzzled her face happily against her mother's neck, inhaling that strange ocean smell to further lock it into her memory as Haru pressed kiss after kiss into her hair in a straight line like a memory of a headband.

"When… we move there, I want you to introduce me to this artist. Understand?" Haru finally managed after a few minutes.

Yuki managed a light laugh. "I'm pretty sure we can make that happen. So, did I win this year?"

Her mother gave her a glowing smile, forcing herself to detach herself from the warm embrace in order to lift up the skirts of her large bed. "Frankly, Snow Angel, I think we're going to be about even. Sorry I didn't wrap this, I was too excited to remember." With a mighty pull, she yanked a large tote full of a neatly folded quilt.

Yuki could hear her lungs gasp in surprise, but she didn't feel it. Suddenly feeling like she was half-asleep, she slid off the bed in order to wrap both arms around the thick, cushy quilt and managed a toss over the bed that partially unfolded it. She had to run to the far side in order to spread it out, her mother thankfully setting the knitting box under the bed to help reveal the present in its full glory.

Haru couldn't have known it, but it looked a great deal like the countryside of Yuki's home dimension. Rolling yellow-green hills were covered with cattails, and there was just a set of lakes in the distance, taking the shape of a cat's paw. There were also rabbits all over it, grazing like they had when Uncle Humbert had shown her his memory of her birth mother. No two of the rabbits were alike in color or pose. The whole thing was framed by different variations of _real_ bows in her favorite shade of pink, all seemingly connected by the same ribbon. Sure, the bows were all stitched perfectly into place to keep them from getting rumpled if the quilt was folded wrong, but they were still real bows instead of applique!

Yuki couldn't tear her eyes off it by the time she was able to speak again. "I thought you forgot."

"No," Haru assured her gently. "It could have been done years ago if I had been willing to lock myself in my sewing room and miss out on months of being with you. It's the 'other thing' I talked Baron into arranging to get for me when he wanted a look at your grandfather's notes. If he had half the skill with a regular needle as he does with knitting ones, he probably would have offered to help me. I hope you don't mind that Julia helped with the binding."

Of course Yuki didn't mind. Not if it meant getting to put her very own quilt on her bed tonight. Making up her mind then and there, she peeled back the blankets and slipped into her usual side of her mother's bed. "Climb in. I want my first memory of this quilt to be just us."

Haru smiled but threw a few logs onto the dying fireplace before joining her daughter. "We probably have an hour or two before Julia brings us breakfast. I think it's a little hard on Baron, but he agreed to let us have the morning to ourselves if he gets to join us for lunch and afterwards."

Yuki breathed a deep sigh of contentment while getting wrapped into her mother's arms, since the arrangement was even better than it was when they spent Christmas with Uncle Bruce. Since Tim had loved Christmas morning almost as much as Yuki, they had usually needed to wait until the afternoon or evening for their alone time.

"It's been a good year," she noted while cuddling her mother. "The second half of it got a bit exciting, but at least we both got new friends."

Haru nodded her agreement, turning over the covers enough so that Toby could hop into the bed as well, licking his chops with satisfaction as he also curled up close to her. "Don't tell Baron I said this, but he was a _lot_ closer to getting a sword chucked at him before I charged at him. He's doing a much better job punishing himself than I could do."

Yuki giggled again, not surprised in the least. One of her arms was pinned tightly against her mother's side, but her free hand was lovingly tracing the closest bunny applique. One that was white with brown spots. "Agreed. I like him a lot better now that he's friends with you."

Haru nuzzled her child's soft white hair, closing her large eyes as if in thought before opening them with a guilty pang. "Can I tell you another secret, Yuki? I'm afraid it's not a nice one, this time."

Yuki nodded, snuggling even deeper into the blanket with her mother. If she got any more comfortable, she'd probably drift off if they didn't keep talking.

"When I realized that you were telling the truth about having no one else but me, I was happy."

Yuki's sapphire eyes snapped open in surprise. She could feel her mother nervously rake her knuckles over one arm.

"I mean I was glad you were an orphan," the strange woman spat out, looking ashamed of herself. "I was glad that I didn't have to turn you over to any relatives. That I had a golden chance to have you all to myself. I **wanted** you, Yuki. Last time I wanted someone in my life this much, he did all the chasing, not me. I was a lot slower back then about admitting how much I needed him."

Yuki nuzzled against her mother's comfortable shoulder, even if she was surprised that her mother was finally admitting to coveting her. "Grandpa knew a gem when he saw one."

After a silent minute, Haru managed a light laugh before pressing her lips to snow-white hair. "You know? If it weren't for the fact that we're both adopted, I'd swear you were genetically Dad's grandbaby."

Yuki grinned, extracting herself from the blanket enough to stand at her full height on the bed and give her best impression of a loving glare. "Haru Yoshioka, you are an amazing, brave, beautiful person, and I wish you would let yourself see it! I needed you at least as much as you needed me, so I reject your apology!"

As expected, her mother melted at such talk. "You know, I've wondered more than once if you're his reincarnation. Just don't pick up smoking, okay?"

Yuki smiled and settled herself back into the blanket. "Deal. Besides, we both know what you would have done if you had been anywhere near that alley when my first parents died."

Haru tightened her hold on her daughter possessively. "Without a thought," she confirmed sadly. After a while, she managed a wistful smile " _You must have been a beautiful baby…_ " she crooned in a soft tease.

Yuki couldn't suppress a giggle, even as her mind replayed what the memory spell had shown her. "They would have liked you. I bet you could have talked them into letting you be near me as a godmother or honorary aunt."

Haru gave a half-smile. "That would have been fun. I mean, I've really enjoyed all the years I've gotten to have you to myself, but…" She stopped and let herself carefully think the situation over. "I would have liked that a _lot_ ," she whispered, almost to herself. "Even if they were only half as amazing as you, I could have… confided in them. There's no way in heck they were bland and normal, not with you for evidence."

' _Mother liked you too.'_ It was too soon to verbally tell her so, but Yuki had every intention of introducing her second mother to her first mother's memory once things were said and done. "And Grandpa, too," she added instead. "Just the four of you raising me out in the Refuge. That would have been _really_ fun."

Haru nearly swooned at the idea as tears began to thinly trail her cheeks. "All of us ganging up on each other and driving the others crazy with this or that antic for the rest of our… lives." She suddenly saddened, probably remembering whatever her impressive lifespan was. A sad sigh escaped her control. "As much as we could, anyway."

Yuki's lower lip quivered with the desire to ask just how long her mother's lifespan was going to be. If the Cat King didn't have that spell ready and waiting for her, how long was her mother going to look like a teenager? Why did she physically age the same as a human until sixteen? Was she going to pick up regular aging when she hit sixty-four, or was that just the age she was likely to be able to start having kids on her own? How old was her _grandma_ when she gave birth to Haru?

That's right. They would both be at an equal mental level next Christmas. That must have been the reason why her mother specified twelve as the age to tell her daughter everything.

Suddenly Yuki started in horror. _'Mom was mentally ten when she adopted me!'_ She gave a quick glance upward into a suddenly worried face.

"Sweetie? Is something wrong?" Haru asked, a little worried by her child's sudden mood change.

Yuki was eleven now. Her mind reeled at the idea of personally taking care of someone smaller and more helpless than herself without any day-to-day help. The only reason she had been able to train Toby was because of her mother's gentle guidance, but… a ten-year old taking care of a five-year old? Her heart pounded unsteadily at the idea.

Yuki never would have been able to do it. No one and nothing could have convinced her that she was the best choice for the job, even with extra years stuck as the same age. How did her mom do it?

"Sweetheart, you're starting to scare me," Haru begged, gently rubbing her hands over her daughter's face and hair in an attempt to soothe her.

"You never wanted to adopt before me," Yuki blurted out, only now fully realizing the reason why.

Haru flinched in guilt. But she sighed in agreement while tucking her child back into the folds of the quilt. "People have been trying to talk me into it ever since making my first movie, since I'd rather play with my kid co-stars than talk shop with adults. Even Dad never gave up on the idea that I'd be a parent someday. But…" she struggled to find the right words.

"There's a huge difference between baby-sitting someone else's child for a few hours and being in charge of someone's growth and well-being for an odd two decades. I have… problems, Yuki. Things that I've always been afraid would make me a bad parent in the long run." She held onto her daughter a little tighter. "It doesn't help that I read years ago that abused children often turn into abusive parents in due time. I didn't want to risk that. I still don't."

Yuki turned enough in her mother's arms to wrap both arms around her neck and give a loving lick to that familiar cheek.

 _This_ time, it was intentional.

"You aren't him, Mom," she stated as clearly as she could. "You make him roll in his maggoty grave every day, just by being your amazing self. All jokes aside, picking you for my second mom was the best decision I ever made. … I really do think we were supposed to meet," she added a little shyly, adjusting her body onto her mother's lap so that she could keep her arms around her mother's neck. "If my birth parents knew how happy I am being with you, they'd be happy too. Thank you for not letting me be someone else's problem."

Her mother grabbed her by the chin and forced her to lock eyes, large brown eyes surprisingly furious for the innocent statement.

"You are **not** a problem. You were **never** a problem. You, young lady, are _**mine**_ , and that's final."

Yuki had to fight back a purr trying desperately to crawl out of her throat. She couldn't clue her mother into the game quite yet.

ooOoo

Baron stared out his window, nursing a half-knitted scarf in his hands as he stared out into the moonlit snow. It was a peaceful night for once, a few hours before the dawn. He really should be asleep, but at least Haru had warned him that part of the magic of Christmas was a great difficulty in getting any rest the night before.

But he knew his own reasons for restlessness. His fingers moved automatically with the yarn and needles occupying his hands, giving the sleepless night _some_ semblance of productivity.

That had been the funny part of taking up knitting. It had been five years after his mother's death that his heart had been crushed again, and yet thanks to his memory of his mother's hand movements, he had never really needed a tutor the first time he picked up needles and a yarn he couldn't even remember the color of.

What was the color of the yarn he was working with right now? He looked down to see a pale grey and green that he thought would suit Haru beautifully. His mind automatically conjured the image of Haru skating across a lake's surface with the grace of a swan, eyes bright and mists of breath surrounding her face like a halo as this scarf billowed from around her neck.

He quickly checked the length of the scarf, a little put out with himself that it wasn't long enough to present to her when her allotted time was up with Yuki. He took in a deep breath and let it out again, reminding himself that while it would be a late gift by human standards, he would still be well within a reasonable time limit if he finished it before the Winter's Solstice. Haru was patient, she wouldn't mind. Knowing her, she probably didn't so much as suspect a single gift to herself.

Baron couldn't help but smile wickedly as he continued knitting. He had no idea the exact time Sonya was going to have Haru's new weaponry delivered, but he was going to do everything he could to be there when she found out how eager his friends were to see the last of the rat.

… Perhaps 'find out' wasn't quite right. 'Reconfirm' seemed a bit more appropriate, considering the fact that she still got occasional flowers from his more determined friends.

He glanced at the clock, mentally comparing the time to the part of the festivities that were going on in his dimension right now. His heart seemed to pound painfully with the ticking of the clock, reminding him of what he had literally been throwing away year after year.

' _Humbert? Oh dear, I hope I'm not waking him,'_ his little sister fretted, realizing at the last second that he could have very well been in bed.

Baron smiled while setting the knitting in his lap. _'I'm awake, Hilary. Is anything wrong?'_

' _No, nothing like that.'_ There was a long silence, as if she was trying to decide what to say. _'Can I come see you for a while? The manor feels empty without you, and I'm not up to facing that at the moment.'_

Baron felt his heart thump painfully enough to set his work aside and approach the body length mirror he had managed to slip into his room without Drac's knowledge. A small touch was all that was needed to make the surface ripple and change into a hallway of the palace he knew very well.

His sister, stunning in a gown of purest emerald silk, smiled gratefully while taking his offered hand.

With practiced gentleness, he guided her through the mirror until he could wrap his arms around her.

He tried to wish her a Happy Christmas since she was in the Human Dimension now, but much to his surprise, she started crying.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked in alarm while trying to pull back, but she had latched onto him too firmly.

Her answer came half-muffled against his shoulder as she nuzzled him possessively. "Do… you know… _remember_ … last time you held me?"

In a mere second, he did. Hilary was in a yellow dress, the fanciest he had bought for her yet. She had been so nervous that she was going to mess up her job as flower girl for his wedding. He had been soothing her nerves with an embrace when Renaldo's mother had nervously approached with Louise' final letter to him.

Had any of his hugs with Haru been in front of his sister? Had he been unknowingly taunting her?

Instead of answering, he swooped her into his arms, carried her back to his chair, and set her on his lap so he could continue to hold her.

"Humbert? I'm not a child anymore, this is hardly proper," she reminded him through her tears, though her arms had relocated to around his neck so she could keep hugging him.

"Bother proper," he retorted, hugging her the way he once had. Doing this with Haru had always felt amazing, but he had forgotten that he had once enjoyed lavishing this kind of attention on his little sister.

Hilary laughed in delight as tears continued to roll down her furry cheeks out of pure joy. "I am _loving_ Haru's influence on you! I've missed this side of you terribly, you know."

Baron held her even closer with a rueful smile. "I don't think I was this casual before. I think I understand why Haru enjoys it so. If this keeps up, I won't recognize my own reflection."

Hilary rested her head on his shoulder. " _I_ will," she assured him happily, nuzzling his shoulder again.

Baron was feeling much easier in his mind with his sweet sister keeping him company, but to his surprise, neither of them drifted off in the chair. Though after some time, he could feel one of his legs falling asleep from her weight.

"Are you feeling up to a cup of tea?" he asked instead of informing her.

Hilary nodded, peeling herself off his lap with a small pout to sit on the opposite chair of him. He gave her a warm smile and struggled to keep his pace normal through his sleeping leg as he walked to the counter and poured her a cup from his latest batch. He didn't bother asking before pouring a tiny amount of honey and almond milk into her cup, knowing by now how she took her tea.

As he began walking toward her with the cup, he couldn't help realizing something of a humorous nature. "You know? For the past twelve years, I've missed every festival, celebration, and even tea party I could manage. The joy of others was simply too much for me to bear." He managed a rueful smile at his little sister while handing her the tea. "And now, of course, the _one year_ no one could possibly get upset with me for not showing up thanks to the rat's orders to stay in the castle unless I had specific permission to leave the grounds…"

Hilary gaped at him, having no trouble at connecting the dots. "Then… after all this is settled, you'll let me plan a welcome home party?" she asked eagerly. "You've been missed, you know, and we will want something special to introduce Haru to everyone."

He gave her a warning look as he realized his current cup had gone cold. "If I agree to such a thing, I _will_ insist that her majesty approves everything you plan out. I haven't forgotten how you wore out our niece on her birthday," he informed her while changing out the tea for a fresh cup.

She flinched before taking a guilty sip. "How many apologies do I have to give for that?"

"All of them. Haru was worried about how worn out her child was when Renaldo brought her Yuki's remains," he informed her once again, adding just almond milk to his own cup.

"At least she had fun," Hilary defended herself hotly. "Yuki even said so!"

"I have little doubt she did," Baron assured her as he took back his own seat. "But Haru has learned her lesson in setting you loose on that score."

His little sister pouted but sipped her tea. "This blend turned out excellent. I better leave after this cup or Haru won't get any."

Baron blinked in surprise. Without him to restrain her, Hilary had been known to go through whole batches of his tea without assistance.

He smiled, realizing that he wasn't the only one being changed by Haru's subtle influence. But before he let himself get distracted by the thought of his potential future wife, he took a closer look at the cat sitting across from himself.

When did his trouble-making little sister turn into a lovely lady? It could have easily been yesterday that she was even shorter than Yuki, only interested in hugs and catching anything foolish enough to run from her. His heart pounded painfully as he remembered his parents cheerfully joke about the poor tom that would take her fancy when the time was right.

Had a tom ever taken her fancy? Baron wasn't as sociable as he had been when she was a child, but his position with the king had made it impossible for him to shut the world out as he had once wished. He carefully thought it over but was forced to conclude that his dear sister had never shown any interest in a particular tom.

She had focused all of her energies trying to find a mate for him, instead. It had taken no effort to see that she thought marriage to someone else would bring back his happiness. No matter how he begged or demanded she stop 'shipping' him with every girl that looked in his general direction, it wasn't until Haru showed her true colors that she finally did as she was bid. How much talking did Yuki or the queen have to go through to encourage her inaction when someone _more_ than ideal presented herself?

"Humbert?" she asked worriedly, making him realize that he had been staring at her longer than he had meant to.

Baron took a sip, feeling horribly guilty for his neglect. He didn't know what all Hilary's first interaction with Haru was like, but if someone that barely batted an eyelash at fighting monsters found something admirable in Hilary enough to bring it up when trying to talk him into being Yuki's godfather… well, it was something, wasn't it?

Forcing himself to swallow his pride once again, he looked at her gravely. "I've been terribly unfair to you, Hilary. Not at all the kind of brother you deserved during your tender years. Will you believe me if I promise to do better once this mess is sorted out?"

She gave him a smile full of love and relief. "You already are, Humbert. Just… do me a favor and don't let Haru escape you?"

He gave her a wicked smirk before finishing his tea. "Just trust me."

xxXxx

A/N: 'You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby' belongs to Bing Crosby.


	34. In My Way

**Chapter Thirty-Four: In My Way**

 _But all that's in the past! This time,_ _ **nothing**_ _… can stand in my way!_

 _-Ratigan, 'Greatest Criminal Mind' from 'The Great Mouse Detective'_

 **xxXxx**

 _Everything was ready. His nerves were wound as tight as a violin string, but it was for the better during this fateful night._

 _Drac checked for the twelfth time that the symbols his chalk circle was completely perfect, as well as the protective ring around the circle to keep him safe until he established control for whatever was to come._

 _Rather than risk smudging the circle, he used a specially extended grabber tool to carefully slide precisely seven long white hairs off their glass bowl and into the center of the inner circle._

 _Retrieving the brat's hair had been no special task thanks to their predictable shopping schedule. Neither had his future wife's hair for that matter, but this spell would only work if she were in another world. That had been his instructors' first lesson; Never fudge details on a spell, or the damage will very possibly be irreparable._

 _He couldn't help but smirk to himself as he opened the scroll to the right spell. 'If that old fool had accepted things like magic were real, I bet he wouldn't have given up so easily on her.'_

 _But that was all the better for himself. There was no telling how much harder this task would have been if Haru had been his step-mother instead of his adopted sister._

 _His teeth grit angrily before he just as swiftly took some cleansing breaths. This was the moment he had been working for, and he couldn't let even himself interfere with the outcome._

 _In a low practiced tone, he read from the ancient scroll, grateful that his four years' worth of lessons in Latin were paying off in this crucial moment. His future was finally arriving, this was only the opening act!_

 _All he needed to claim the wife that was rightfully his would soon be at his fingertips as the candles' flames grew twice as long as the candles themselves!_

 _The chalk marks on the stone floor were beginning to glow, softly at first, but the marks flashed with light at the apex of the spell._

 _Drac was temporarily blinded. He inwardly cursed himself for not wearing shades to protect his eyes, but almost immediately dismissed the idea._

 _One does_ _ **not**_ _summon and chain a monster from another dimension to your will while wearing something as modern as_ _ **sunglasses**_ _! He had rejected the electric lights overhead for the same reason, it just wouldn't have felt the same if he were doing this in a brightly lit room instead of a dungeon inside the castle he was still having renovated for his new home._

 _As soon as he heard an angry snarl of surprise, Drac gave the first command, not waiting to see the kind of monster his love's adopted brat had descended from. "Don't step outside the circle! That's an order!"_

" _How dare you?!" a strangely familiar voice demanded in a cold whisper as Drac had to take a second to rub his eyes into working again. "What is the meaning of this?!"_

" _I've got a few jobs for you," Drac managed to smirk, blinking his eyes a few times before turning to the being he had summoned._

 _Inside the circle was_ _ **Baron**_ _! The human's mouth fell open in complete surprise, taking him in from top hat to freshly-shined shoes peeking out of the trouser legs of a dark grey suit._

 _Other than the glowering hatred and the shade of his clothes, the cat man looked like he had literally walked out of one of his father's sketches! How could this be possible? First Yuki comes out of nowhere, and now_ _ **Baron**_ _? What next, an overly sarcastic crow that picks fights with an overweight feline?!_

 _Drac knew he should have been going for more of a stunning first impression, but for the longest time, all he could do was stare and gape in disbelief._

 _ **The Baron**_ _continued to glower at him before shaking one wrist with a nearly transparent manacle clasping it. "Well? Out with it! No one uses_ that _spell unless they're desperate!"_

 _Before Drac knew it, his unwanted thoughts were tumbling out of his mouth. "Haru is going to_ _ **love**_ _you."_

 _Before what had_ _to be_ _ **the Baron**_ _was able to ask anything concerning the statement, looking briefly wary, Drac's mind was made up, even as it began reeling with a bigger, even better plan to win his soulmate back!_

 _By hook or by crook, he couldn't let this feline become a rival for Haru's affections._

xxXxx

Yuki twirled under Muta's hand happily, laughing as the skirt of her red party dress flared out like a flower. This wasn't one of the proper court dances she had been learning with Lune but considering the fact that they weren't at the last day of the Winter Festival, it was unlikely that she was going to get scolded.

Especially since from the corner of her eyes, she could see her uncle dancing more wildly than she could have once imagined from him with the person he had once professed to hold no regard for.

And loving every second of it, by the way!

Now confident on the dance floor, Baron picked up Haru by the waist and swung her around before a dramatic dip, much to her delight. He had changed out his usual dark grey suit for a nice black tuxedo, and her mother was making do with the nicest dress she had bothered to pack, a somewhat simple lime green dress that under normal circumstances would have been more suited to an afternoon tea. She had been planning to commission a fancier dress when she thought Prince Albert was getting married but didn't see a reason to for a New Year's staff party. From the wide smile on Baron's face, he wasn't about to go complaining about propriety again.

The other dancers were more than happy to give the pair a wide berth, but if forced to be honest, they were moving just enough to justify being on the dance floor to get a nice view of the two.

To eliminate arguments, Haru had insisted that every hour the live musicians switch off with a designated disc jockey so that everyone could have a chance to dance and enjoy the food that Haru had generously paid for.

It was the one night of the year that Yuki was allowed to stay up until midnight, and she had to admit that this was a bit more exciting than one of Uncle Bruce's parties or watching movies with her mother and snacking on whatever they feel like. The one time they did movies instead of head to Gotham for the holidays, Yuki hadn't lasted until ten, let alone midnight.

It was clear that the ordinary workers were enjoying themselves too, because there were next to no grumblings about making a toast with sparkling cranberry cider instead of alcohol when midnight drew near.

Haru swirled the red fizzing liquid thoughtfully before confiding her New Year's resolution. "This is the year, for sure, that I end this nonsense with Drac for good. No more worrying if he'll come back later and stir up more trouble for scraps of my attention that he doesn't deserve."

"Hear, hear!" Baron added enthusiastically while clinking his wine glass with hers. "Is there a human rule against having the same resolution?"

"Meaning 'should it be a public or private goal'?" she teased, bumping against his side affectionately. "I won't object to a second resolution if you've got one."

Since Yuki was getting more used to feline expressions, she could tell that her uncle was doing the cat equivalent of blushing.

"I'd like _that_ one to be the private one," he confessed, suddenly looking the ability to look his friend in the eye.

Haru quirked an eyebrow at him, but let it slide so that she could grin at her daughter. "What about you, Snow Angel?"

Yuki didn't miss a beat. "To win that prize you promised me if I do well with Sonya."

Haru blinked. "So you made up your mind about what you want? What is it?"

Yuki shook her head with a smirk. "Nope. Not until I earn it."

Her mother pouted as she glanced up at the bodyguard. "Are you going to make yours a secret too?"

Muta shrugged as he downed his glass. "Actually, I just want to improve on my baking skills."

That got even Baron's attention. "Renaldo, you dominate every cooking competition you hear of, not to mention the eating ones. How can you possibly improve?"

The large white cat poured himself another glass from a nearby bottle. "I was thinking of a new way to make mulberry cake. The usual method is always a hit, but," he gave a quick glance in Haru's direction, continuing without missing a beat, "I just think that a few extra touches will make even the king weep for a second slice." _'I can't say 'wedding cake' with her standing right there,'_ he told his lord telepathically.

"He already does," Baron reminded him with a tired smile, making sure to veer his thoughts away from the 'w' word. "How many job offers have you turned down from him?"

"Random guess; forty-five," Haru interjected with a mischievous smile, but the large body-guard shrugged.

"I never bothered to keep count, but you're probably close, _Chicky_ ," he teased, finally using the nickname his counterparts used in her movies.

' _Life imitating art,'_ Yuki couldn't help thinking as her mother laughed with delight.

ooOoo

The typical counting down happened three minutes later, and the party was pretty much over. Some of the musicians and camera men wanted to stay up even later, but Baron and Muta were escorting Haru and Yuki to their rooms.

Baron couldn't help feeling like the luckiest tom in any dimension, having Haru's arm intertwined with his as they chatted and laughed about little things that neither of them were likely to remember in the morning.

"This is probably the first evening party I've ever attended that's been completely dry," he confided, using a thankful squeeze on her arm. "I've always been a little afraid there would be no way back if I turned to alcohol."

She managed a grin up at him. "There's a fair chance that the ones staying up have some stowed away for after I leave, but I'm proud of you for finding different outlets."

I'm proud of you. Did she have _any_ idea how his heart sang at her approval?

He couldn't help himself, he raised her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss once they reached her door. He tried to speak his gratitude, but his throat was suddenly too thick for speech.

She smiled warmly at the gesture but gave Muta and Yuki a look to encourage them to enter the little girl's room before saying anything herself. "Baron, we need to talk," she said in a low tone, immediately catching his attention. "I've been trying to catch you alone all day, but I _swear_ people think I needed to decide everything for the party."

Alone? Did she know the truth? Was it about their personal future? Oh dear, if she asked more questions about his king, what could he possibly say that would not make her mind immediately jump to the caricature she knew from her work?

"Relax, Baron," she tried not to giggle while gripping him by the shoulder, but a silly smile was escaping her control. "It's about taking the godfather job. It would be best to make it official before Drac gets back, which gives us two months to work with." The mirth began to leave her eyes. "I want everything locked in stone before he can throw a monkey wrench into her future."

Poor, selfless woman. It wasn't the _daughter's_ future he wanted to ruin.

He held her hands gently between his own. "I'll ask Sonya to draw up the necessary paperwork, she'll be bound to have it ready by this time tomorrow. Do you trust her and me, Haru? The dialect won't be one you recognize, but it will be binding. Due to… reasons I can't elaborate on at the moment, even if something happens to the both of us, Hilary will make sure that Yuki is immediately taken to the family estate. You _know_ she will do her best with her, and Sonya fully intends to stay a part of your daughter's life no matter what." Baron didn't know what else to say, but he was hopeful that she would understand everything he didn't dare say yet.

Her response was definitely of relief, rising to her tiptoes and jumping up slightly to wrap her arms around his shoulders. "… That's all I want," she whispered, nuzzling his neck with her head.

Sweet heavens, she was scent-marking him! But he was no fool anymore, wrapping his arms around her waist again and holding her tight as he nuzzled her hair happily, scent-marking her back shamelessly.

He knew his friends and family would be able to smell what they were doing, but since they were completely for calling Haru their future lady, he knew there would only be joy that there was _finally_ some progression to their friendship!

All too soon, Haru was loosening her grip in a bid to be put down. Baron couldn't help feeling sulky that it was already over as he gently leaned over enough to let her feet touch the stone corridor again.

She pressed a kiss to his furry cheek before letting herself into her room. "Good night, and thanks again, Baron," she wished him with a big smile while shutting the door.

He continued to stand at the door, although he knew for a fact it wasn't going to open again until morning, something that was reinforced by the click of the lock. He stared at the unyielding wood, almost unwilling to believe the double-blessing this night had given him! He had been awkwardly hopeful when he noticed a handful of the workers and musicians sharing a kiss at the stroke of midnight but had known better than to hope for one himself other than the one he snuck on her hand just now.

Haru was still mentally a child, but…

Muta came out of Yuki's room before Baron could regain his composure, keeping one hand on the cheek she kissed and a ridiculously happy smile on his lips.

Baron knew full well that Haru had meant it as an innocent gesture of affection. But that didn't stop him from having very sweet dreams about it for a week.

ooOoo

By the time Drac's return came two months later, things were set in place. Everything of both Haru's and Yuki's that wasn't essential to every day life at the castle had been transferred to the von Gikkingen estate, even if Baron was waiting to tell Haru that this also applied to most of the contents of the Refuge.

Yuki's lessons had also increased from two hours a day to spending everything between breakfast in the morning and supper at the royal table every evening to keep her as far from Drac as possible. Yuki had private doubts on whether or not this was going to work since the rat was able to summon and bind her closest relative with only a handful of stolen hair from her, but she was hopeful that he had already forgotten about her existence.

Still, at least meals with the royal family were a lot less awkward than they had been when Sonya started her lessons. She could look Lune in the eye now, for starters.

Speaking of which, the crown prince patted his lips with a napkin politely before taking in a deep breath and looking over at her with a slightly troubled expression. "I really liked the book you gave me, but I have a few concerns to bring up with you."

The young kitten managed a smile up at him around a goblet of fresh almond milk. "I found all the author interruptions annoying, too. I usually skip over them when I reread the book."

Lune blinked before laughing nervously. "Well, yes, I could have done without most of those bits, but I was wondering if… you were trying to tell me something by giving me _that_ book."

Yuki cocked her head at him, leaving off her pan seared salmon for now. "I just wanted to see if you'd like it as much as I do," she stated before suddenly realizing what he was getting at. "Oh, right. No, I _don't_ see you as Humperdinck. Your mother wouldn't stand for it if you were that cold-blooded." She then offered him a small smile. "And neither would I."

Lune breathed a deep sigh of relief, enough to attract his parents' attention.

Sonya blinked around delicately nibbling a bun, leaning just enough to look at her son from the other side of the equally curious king. "Is there something I need to know about, dears?"

"What, no, Mother," Lune hurriedly assured with a nervous smile, making Yuki fight back a giggle behind one gloved hand.

"Lend her the book when you're done with it," the little duchess suggested, still smiling with mirth as she then addressed the queen. "It's the one that has a movie that Mom did a parody of. Remember the sky pirates?"

Sonya brightened immediately. "Oh! Then yes, remember to lend me the book, dear. Haru did say that only the original did the book justice, even if her version was fun to make."

Phoebus started scowling around half a pastry stuck in his mouth. "So when are you going to let _me_ watch those movies?! You're laughing for days after seeing just one of them."

Yuki hurriedly looked away so that the king couldn't see the naughty smirk on her lips.

"I don't think you would be as amused, my love," Sonya soothed him, only the years at court being enough to help her say it with a straight face.

Lune looked like he wanted to ask Yuki for confirmation but decided not to waste his breath when he got a good look at the smirk. Shaking his head, he leaned a little closer to softly whisper another question. "Will I like them better than Father?"

Yuki didn't hesitate about nodding before returning to her lunch. "I haven't seen a single one yet that you wouldn't like."

ooOoo

"Now then, dear," the Cat Queen tried not to gush at her young apprentice as she poked through her study for a new spell book. "I must say that your learning curve is the most impressive I've ever seen. At this rate, you could take over for me by the next Winter Solstice without much difficulty."

Yuki couldn't help laughing nervously as she tried not to play with the skirt of her layered blue dress out of nerves as she waited on a lounging couch. "I'd rather the circumstances leading up to that happened years from now. _Many_ years from now."

Sonya gave her a fond look before resuming her search. "But there is no rule against you helping me to gain experience for when you fly solo. Books are all well and good, but there is no better teacher than personal experience."

"Mom says the same thing," Yuki confided with a dreamy smile. Then she gave a big sigh of longing. "I just wish we could move here and be done with Drac for good."

Sonya finally found the yellow-bound book she was looking for and stepped closer to the kitten with a warm smile on her face. "All in good time, my dear. I daresay having your mum in court will be a breath of fresh air when all is said and done."

Renaldo smirked from his place behind the couch. "If nothing else, she'll make sure the rest of us stay on our toes just to keep up with her."

Sonya nodded her agreement as she held out the latest book to her young apprentice.

"Yuki! Your Majesty!" shot through the air like a gunshot, making the yellow book fall to the red carpet from surprise.

Both Sonya and Yuki looked up at the mirror in the corner to find that Hilary was pressed to the other side of it like a child outside a new toy shop. For some reason, she was calling from Yuki's bedroom at Drac's castle.

"Your majesty! You have to send Yuki home immediately!" the young noblecat nearly demanded with a wild smile that even Renaldo shrank from nervously.

Sonya slowly stood to her full height, disapproval written clearly on her features. "Hilary, I suggest you explain yourself before I'm forced to send you to the dungeon for the night. You _know_ how important your niece's education is."

Hilary's eyes were too bright to take notice as she knelt on Yuki's green carpet with her hands clasped in front of her in the classic begging position. "If you feel I deserve it when you find out what happened, be my guest. It's a small price, but I am _begging_ you to send Yuki home without delay."

The little kitten's heart froze in fear. "Did something happen to Mom? Uncle Humbert?" she begged while drawing closer for information.

Hilary's lips trembled with the need to speak, but she forced herself to take in a deep breath before answering. "Your mum will **never** forgive me if I tell you before she does. Please trust me on this."

Yuki and the queen exchanged a look.

"… The dungeon will be waiting if it's trivial," Sonya sighed, leading the child toward the mirror so that her aunt could take her through.

The queen came next, soon followed by the bodyguard who was still eyeing his friend warily.

"Last time I saw you this excited, you were even shorter than Yuki," Renaldo stated in a flat tone. "Do we need me to grab a weapon?"

Hilary almost dislocated her neck while shaking her head with enthusiasm. "Just you wait and see," she promised, giving an extra big hug to her niece. She firmly kept one hand to her mouth to keep from saying anything more. But she did gesture at Yuki's neck, making the kitten take her amulet off and slip it into a pocket of her dress to turn into a human girl once more. Sonya and Renaldo only thanked their lucky stars that they hadn't been required in months to make a human appearance.

After a few minutes, there came a familiar knock on the door. "Yuki? Are you in right now?" her mother pleaded like she desperately needed an affirmative answer.

"I'm here, Mom! Come right in," Yuki urged, more than a little curious as to what could make her aunt act this kittenish.

Renaldo hurriedly helped himself to opening the door so that Haru could almost stumble in like she had been in another fight. Yuki could feel her uncle's gaze trailing after her mother, but there was definitely a different feeling than she had ever felt from him before.

If she didn't know any better, it was something verging on the edge of _excitement_! Also a touch of rage, but Yuki prayed that was coming from Drac more than anything.

Whatever had happened must have been **big**.

Haru tiredly looked at first the queen and her own child, and then turned her very stern gaze to a beaming Hilary, who only now allowed her hand to fall from her lips.

"I told them nothing," the tawny cat answered before she could be asked. Without so much as a warning, she scooped Yuki into her arms, marched over to her friend to deposit the girl into her mother's arms, and started pushing on the friend's shoulders to pressure her into walking to her own room. "I might tell Sonya, but I'm forcing myself to leave Yuki to you."

"Good girl," Haru approved, but hesitated at the door just as Hilary was about to close it behind them. "Nothing's determined, you know."

The feline managed a loving smile, giving a tiny lick to Haru's cheek as she gripped the door to close it. "We'll see."

"Goofball," the brunette sighed, setting her child down so that she could press one ear to the door to be sure that she was leaving.

Yuki could already feel the queen's eyes on them, soon joined by her aunt, but did her best to be patient.

Not that it was an easy task. The very air felt alive with vibrant, contradicting emotions that pulsed like an excited heartbeat. A glance at the clock said plainly that the reason neither Toby nor Julia were around was because of how fond the feline maid was of sunsets.

After a while, Haru straightened up and looked at her child gravely. "Yuki," the woman struggled to say. "I'm in trouble."

That immediately got the girl's attention. " _There's_ something I thought you'd never say. What happened?"

Haru took in a deep breath while struggling to cross the room past her child. "Baron. Baron happened."

Yuki cocked her head in confusion as she subconsciously followed the woman to the large bed. "I don't understand. Did Baron do something bad?"

Haru sank onto the foot of the bed, now trembling like a leaf. "No. That's why I'm in trouble."


	35. No Way!

**Chapter Thirty-Five: No Way!**

 _No chance! No way! I won't say it, no no!_

 _-Megara, 'I Won't Say I'm In Love' from Disney's 'Hercules'_

 **xxXxx**

' _ **How dare he?!'**_ _James lost control of himself, making a fist and sinking it into that brat's self-satisfied face hard enough to send him through a glass window he had carelessly been standing too close too._

 _It was to a diner, appropriately enough. The people at the table screamed as the slime bag accidentally used his body to slide their food off onto the floor, now heavily seasoned with broken glass._

 _The fool hadn't so much as waited to enter the building before revealing himself to be worth no one's time. He cried out in terrible pain, which the older man found musical but the young lady next to him found distressing._

" _Louis!" Harry screamed, actually turning her body towards the diner's door in order to check on him, but James wasn't about to allow that._

 _Without thinking twice about it, he grabbed the girl and threw her over a shoulder with more ease than he was comfortable with, using one hand to grab his card from a suit pocket and reach through the broken window to the middle-aged waitress standing just outside the mess and trembling customers._

" _This is my name and number. Please forward expenses for a new window and fresh meals for this group to me." He had to grunt a bit while saying this, since the slim brunette on his shoulder was putting up an impressive fight to get back on the ground._

 _Not about to argue with the huge man, the timid waitress took the card, freeing him to adjust his hold on Harry slightly and march back to his limo. He wasted no time opening his own door and nearly shoving the girl in before following her. "Take us home, Jen!" he called forward, locking the doors before Harry could escape through the other side of the car._

" _What are you_ _ **doing**_ _? This is kidnapping! You have no right to do this!" the poor girl was panicking as the driver wordlessly pulled away from the meeting place they had agreed on after her accidental interview at the diner and the more intentional one he talked her into later the same day at his office to determine what further lessons she would require before shooting began._

 _This meeting had only been a favor to his new protégé since she said that her boyfriend was eager to make it onto the big screen, but it took less than a glance to know that he would only ever have the drive to be an extra._

" _I have every right to do this. Is there anything from your hotel room that you can't live without? It would be best to pick it up before he goes back and destroys it." 'Not that I would protest if I got to personally ensure a nicer wardrobe for you.'_

" _You don't understand, he_ _ **needs**_ _me! He'll starve if I don't go back to him!" she desperately tried to communicate._

 _James could feel his blood boiling at such talk. "Surely if he's strong enough to hit you, he's strong enough to find work on his own."_

" _It's okay, he doesn't hit as hard as…" her lips clamped shut those sweet brown eyes seemed to gloss over._

 _The tall man felt a chill, taking a fair guess at the unspoken name._

 _She didn't finish the sentence, instead taking in a deep breath. "Mr. Ratigan… I_ _ **need**_ _to stay with Louis. He's my family. He's my everything. I… don't want to be alone. Please."_

 _He could feel his heart breaking from her plea but forced himself to cross his arms and give her a stern look. "I'll make you a deal, Harry. If you can give me three good reasons why that little player is good enough for you, I'll let you go back to him."_

 _A spark of mad hope filled her eyes. "He's the first person to ever say that he loved me, he's going to take care of me after he makes it big as an actor, and he doesn't hit as hard as I'm used to back in our hometown."_

 _James stared in disbelief. He had suspected when he met the girl yesterday that she'd had a lousy life, but he hadn't even_ _ **imagined**_ _it had been this bad. She was just so… pure. There had been many things he had seen in his lifetime, but it had taken less than a glance to see that this sweet angel would weep at hurting a fly. How could anyone mistreat her and be able to look in a mirror afterward?_

 _If only he had met a girl like this when he was still new and full of ideals. Perhaps he could have had more than one son by now. Perhaps even children that weren't entitled brats._

 _His gaze returned to the fresh mark_ _ **that**_ _ **brat**_ _had left on her cheek._

 _Harry deserved more than this kind of treatment. She deserved someone that would tell her he loved her every day and would show it when he didn't say it. She deserved to be treated like the young lady she was._

 _Most importantly, she deserved to know that she could do better than less than the bare minimum._

 _James leaned forward, taking a gentle hold on his new ward's chin so that she had no choice but to look him in the eye. She seemed worried by the hold, but he refused to let go until he had told her this much._

" _So_ _ **help**_ _me, little girl. By the time I'm through with you, you'll have a_ _ **much**_ _better list than that the next time you fall in love."_

xxXxx

Haru was rocking in her seat on the bed with nerves. "So, we were filming as normal."

"Okay," Yuki encouraged, rubbing her mother's arm.

The woman was still nervous, rubbing her upper arms distractedly. "I forgot my line. Drac doesn't allow for ad-libbing, but since we were going to have to reshoot it anyway, I decided to say something I thought was appropriate to the situation in the scene." Haru slipped off the bed and buried her red face in her hands while breathing heavily. "I don't even remember what it was I _said_!"

' _I do,'_ Baron sighed happily in his niece's mind, fueling her curiosity.

Yuki followed her mother off the bed in order to rub her mom's shoulder next. "How come? It wasn't that long ago."

Her mother laughed uneasily as the wild look in her eyes increased. "That's not the problem, Sweetness. Baron… appreciated what I said. A _lot_."

Oh, she had to know what happened now! "How much is 'a lot'?" Yuki prodded without mercy.

Haru took in a long deep breath before nearly exploding with her answer. "He _kissed_ me!"

Yuki's jaw dropped.

"And I _loved_ it!" she added before standing up to start pacing her room like a madwoman. "I have **never** enjoyed getting kissed! For peanut butter's sake, I've literally killed because of guys deciding they had the right to take one! But then Baron comes out of nowhere and just…"

Her mother tried with hand gestures to express her frustration, but then sighed in defeat, letting her arms hang limply at her sides. "…it was perfect. The way he held me, the way he didn't try to demand more than I was willing to give… it… almost felt like the first time I held _you_." Haru stopped pacing, looking at her daughter with haunted eyes.

"It was like _**finally**_ coming home."

The child felt lucky that she wasn't in Sonya's charge right now, because there was no restraining her reaction. She squealed as loudly as possible before performing a wild dance around the room. " _ **Yes! Yes! Yes!**_ I approve this shipping!" she whooped happily.

"It gets worse," Haru added, sounding a little sick as she sat on the bed again. "After Baron pulled away, he told me that ' **I** _ **thought**_ **I wanted obedience. But that was before I met loyalty.'** And then I had to go and blurt out 'I'm in trouble' in front of _everyone_. _**Everyone,**_ Yuki!"

"So how did Drac take it?" her daughter asked slyly, making her mother wave a hand distractedly.

"I honestly forgot anyone else was around until after it was over. If Drac hadn't been so shocked that I was actually _allowing_ Baron to kiss me, he probably would have cut things off a lot sooner." She then scoffed in disgust. "It was so stupid; he tried to pull me aside later and talk me out of giving Baron a chance by pointing out what I don't know about him and that his name's Humbert. As if I haven't had close to thirty years to warm up to the name before calling _Padraic_ out on being that shallow." Haru then looked down at her lap, her grip on one of the bed posts turning white-knuckled as she wrestled with her next words.

"Baron's a good man. He's had his share of issues to deal with, but I'm not going to think about throwing any rocks at him for it, especially now that he's finally letting himself move on. He has the love and respect of those beneath and equal to him, to the point where I can't stop thinking of his servants as his extended family."

' _Another thing we have in common,'_ her uncle couldn't keep from informing the child with undisguised hope.

Haru was still gripping the post with one arm as she forced herself to keep talking. "I've never made it a secret that I covet his amazing sister like no one's business, I could listen to his laugh all day, and… he knows how to make me _feel_ like a lady, sometimes without saying a word. He adores you, which I will have to admit is unbelievably attractive." Blinking, she had to laugh a little at herself. "Heck, the first thing I liked about him was that he was more than willing to go out of his way for you, even before your first meeting. If I hadn't already agreed to share you and that kiss had felt less genuine, I'd suspect him of only going after me so he could keep you."

Yuki gripped her mother's arm to gain her full attention. "Uncle Humbert would _never_ play with your feelings like that, Mom, even for me. He's been through more than his share of heartbreak, and he'd chop his own leg off before hurting anyone like that, let alone a friend."

The mother nodded without a thought. "Exactly. Even if he had kissed me on a whim, he's never struck me as the type to kiss every girl that caught his fancy."

' _She's right. That was my first time. It was more than worth the wait.'_

Yuki never thought that her uncle could use such a smitten, day-dreaming tone. "Well, frankly the tricky part's been finding a girl that _could_ catch his fancy."

Haru nodded her agreement. "Daddy would have liked him now that Baron knows Drac's been glossing over my good traits. Heck, Dad was the Baron/Haru founder! He was always so certain that I was going to actually meet someone like the Baron, and… Dang it, Yuki! I don't know what to do!" she nearly screamed, getting close to tears.

"Go for it!" her daughter demanded without thinking.

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can! Come on, Mom; I flat out told Aunt Hiromi _months_ ago that I could see you two becoming a couple once Uncle Humbert gave you a chance!" Yuki revealed, not about to lose this fight any more than the one she'd had with her uncle last year.

"But I already told her I wasn't going after him!" Haru pleaded, making her daughter straighten and give her a stern look that Sonya had made her practice.

"Mom. Save yourself the embarrassment and **don't** underestimate how much she wants her big brother to be happy again. Wasn't her behavior just now all the confirmation you need that she won't mind you going back on your word this time? If you're what's going to do the trick for Uncle Humbert, she'll take a lacrosse stick to anyone that tries to object."

"What about Muta?" Haru tried again almost desperately.

"Same thing, but he'll be willing to be more violent about it, _and_ Toto would be more than happy to peck eyes out of protesters. **Believe** me, Mom; if you get into a relationship with Uncle Humbert, the ones that really care about him will be more than happy to welcome you."

"That's not… fine, that's not _the_ reason I'm so worried." Haru slammed her head into the bedcovers, visibly counted to ten, and then looked up at her child. "I don't know if you remember me telling you about my… condition."

' _The fact that she's about to mentally turn twelve.'_ But Yuki couldn't let on that she already knew. "Timothy isn't the only amazing doctor Baron knows. I bet all he'd have to do is say the word, and he could have an army of the best doctors ready to fix it."

Haru took in a long steady breath before trying again. "This is a… _very specialized_ condition, Sweetheart. I've already talked to the top genetics scientist on the planet about it, and she stated very clearly that no matter how complete the cure is, there will always be a smidgen of your original self within you. In order for me to be rid of this, there can't be a smidgen, or even half a pinch. A single drop of original blood could ruin everything for me."

Yuki gaped at her mother in surprise. "You've _talked_ to someone about this?"

It was only then Haru was able to smile a little sheepishly while half her face was still buried in the bedcovers. "I let her think we were only talking about her self-inflicted problem. She was flattered that I paid so much attention to her exact words, but if she can't promise a full guarantee for even herself, what chance do **I** have?"

Yuki had to think carefully for the right words. "If you don't ask, how do you expect to find an answer?"

Her mother did another face plant into the bedcover. "I don't," was almost inaudible to any ears that weren't Yuki's. "I expect to live with this… _curse_ until the day I die. Unless I get myself killed first, that will happen a long, _long_ time from now. If Baron knew the truth, he just might die of embarrassment that he let himself get that attached to me."

' _Mom's more shaken up than I thought,'_ Yuki realized, holding one hand to her mouth even as her head throbbed with the metaphor of 'curse'.

Haru hadn't exactly said anything about her impressive lifespan, but that was the first time she had ever dropped a hint that if something wasn't done, she'd still look the same a century from now, at the very least.

Yuki was training for many things in her future role as queen but giving up had never been a specialty of hers. "Maybe Baron will surprise you and know how to fix it?" she tried with an almost desperate smile.

Haru scoffed angrily. "Wouldn't _that_ be something?! If Baron were to walk up to me like this," she said while standing up straight and effortlessly mimicking his usual posture with even a good imitation of his guilty smile. ", and say ' **I'm terribly sorry about deceiving you, Haru, but I really** _ **am**_ **a cat from an alternate dimension. I've had my fun as a bachelor, but now I'm completely interested in settling down and raising a family with you. But I'm afraid you would have to join my species before we can begin planning in earnest.** '" She ended the tender plea with a nervous gentlemanly bow but stayed bowed over at the waist.

Yuki could feel her heart pound a mile a minute, knowing that couldn't be far off from what her uncle was planning to say when the time was right.

The silence in her head was almost deafening as it felt like everyone and everything was waiting for how Haru would respond to such words.

After a while, the woman covered her face with one hand to try muffling a sob as she slowly straightened. "… Do… you _**know**_ … how many times… I've wished… something like that?" she asked through heavy breaths. "For real? Not a script?"

Her face was turned the wrong way, so she didn't see her daughter punch the air in triumph.

' _We have her!'_ Yuki cheered to the others.

' _Not yet, my love. Push her,'_ the queen urged, trying to keep a rein on her own emotions.

' _Don't let her talk herself out of it!'_ Aunt Hiromi nearly demanded.

' _If you convince her to accept me as a suitor, I will grant you anything you desire,'_ her uncle swore, but she didn't need the extra incentive.

"That… would literally solve all my problems," Haru sighed as she sat on the bed again. Her legs came up close so she could rock herself while in the fetal position as an occasional tear continued to escape her defenses. "At least the worst ones. I can handle everything else. To not worry if anyone finds out about it or tries to take advantage... to be _normal_ ," she breathed in complete bliss. Her eyes closed dreamily, probably picturing the same thing she had been longing for since before she could remember.

"Normalcy is an illusion," Yuki quoted without thinking.

Her mother answered without opening her eyes. "What's normal for the spider is chaos for the fly. I know, I taught you that one. But still, being able to just… live my life, and not be constantly afraid that if I close my eyes or drop my guard, I'll lose everyone and everything I ever cared about." She took in a long, haggard breath before speaking again while staring at her beloved child. "Yuki… losing you would destroy me."

' _Why is she still fighting?!'_ Yuki inwardly fumed. _'If anything, Uncle Humbert having a cure will make it so that she won't have to keep going without me if I have a long happy life.'_ Everything pointed to her mother having a bright future with her uncle once making the change, but she was so afraid of telling the truth that it might just take a miracle to make her actually go for it.

Although she knew she might get in trouble for it, Yuki **had** to stoke the flames while she had the chance. "Did you know that your accounts won't transfer to where Uncle Humbert lives?" she asked casually while scooting closer to sit by her mother who was now staring at her lap in misery.

Haru looked over at her sharply enough to make her neck audibly crack. That could only make her rub it a little sorely while giving her daughter complete attention. "No. Whenever I try to get a heads up on what it would take to move there, he promises that there won't be any issues he can't handle." Haru then pouted slightly. "I'm still having a bit of trouble with that idea, since his king's heard of what I can do and will probably insist on a personal vow of loyalty before giving me a green card."

' _I don't know what she means by 'green card', but she is correct about the vow of loyalty before citizenship,'_ the queen informed her, sounding every bit as excited as her uncle.

Yuki folded her arms with a smirk. "Which means that he's been planning to take care of both of us as family for a while. Your finances mean less than nothing to him, and he was going to get both of our company whether he tried for a relationship or not. Very literally, Mom; the only thing he has to gain from going after you _is_ you."

Her mouth fell open before she was able to speak again, her cheeks burning even hotter than before as she slowly slid off the bed. "I'm in… _deep_ trouble!" she whispered almost inaudibly.

Yuki smirked while rolling around on the bed so that she was resting on her stomach and holding her head up with two fists so that she could keep smirking. "You'll be right back to hard work and loyalty," she stated with all the subtlety of a flaming arrow. "We _both_ know Uncle Humbert will be more than happy about only that for a dowry."

' _Go ahead and tell her I own three fully-functioning catapults,'_ her uncle urged, his tone full of mirth.

"And he's got three working catapults," Yuki added obediently, trying to keep a straight face. "It's no trebuchet, but-"

Haru snapped out of her private thoughts to glare at her daughter. "That is flat out bribery, missy!"

Yuki grinned back. "It is, isn't it?" she purred in a challenge. "His place is no Refuge, but it's still out in the country enough that you would like it. Lots of mulberry trees and open fields." She had to bite on her tongue to keep from adding 'for Mother's rabbits'. "You know, a bit like you painted my walls back home. And a _really big library_."

Okay, that last part had been for herself, but it wasn't like her mother wasn't above being a bookworm if she found a new subject that peaked her interest.

Haru sat next to the bed, her legs curled up in thought. Her arm lifted automatically when Yuki crawled down next to her and rested her head on her mother's chest.

"… Mom?" the daughter asked when a whole minute had passed without talking.

Her mother was still staring off at nothing when she answered. "Just let me think, sweetie. I'm not as shallow as you want me to be right now."

"You sure?" Yuki purred, getting another glare for the effort. But since silence was what her mother wanted, she rested against that familiar shoulder and started praying her mother wouldn't find a tiny enough reason to turn down her uncle.

That silence seemed to stretch on forever as Haru turned her vocal battle into an internal one, letting her expression range through the spectrum of fear, anger, tenderness, and yes, even love. Thankfully, even the cats watching them were keeping quiet in order to not miss a single movement, a single whisper.

Yuki wasn't sure if she had always known this moment would come, but there _was_ a good reason why there was more joy than shock that Baron had finally, **finally** , made a respectful move on her.

"You know something, Sweetheart?" Haru finally asked after maybe half an hour of silent contemplation.

"What?" Yuki asked eagerly, at the edge of her nerves from hoping her mother wouldn't turn her uncle away.

Haru tightened her hold on her child before continuing. "Back when Dad first told me about his dreams, he made it clear from the beginning that he shipped me with Baron. I've been assuming for years that he had some crazy dreams and just wanted me to eventually wind up with someone like Baron. He never did stop trying to talk me out of staying alone the rest of my life." Her lower lip started getting chewed on. "But…"

"But?" Yuki prodded, hardly able to contain her excitement.

"… On the… _extreme_ off-chance that your grandpa was on to something with his dreams, and a way opens up for Baron and I to work things out… would you be all that offended about losing your single child status?" she asked a little timidly.

The young girl had to squeal, holding her hands to her cheeks at the mere _idea_ of being part of a nice big family. "You make me a big sister, and I will worship you _**forever**_!"

Haru gave her a suspicious look through her unsurprised amusement. "I thought you were already doing that."

Yuki arranged herself into a begging position, even holding out both hands in front of her to help make the point. "I'll do it harder! Oh please, Mom; I've been shipping you two since I found that doll in the treasure room, please give him a chance!"

Haru smiled indulgently while getting to her feet. "I guess I should have known better than to ask you something like that." She stamped her feet to encourage circulation before pacing the room back and forth like a caged animal as she continued to rant.

"And the worst part, the absolutely worst part about Baron is that I made myself a rock-solid promise years ago that if I ever got tempted to get into a relationship, it'd have to be with someone I could trust my soul with, never mind my life. There are too many complications to let a guy just blindly wait at the end of an aisle in a nice suit! I'd _have_ to tell the poor guy everything! And obviously, that means I'd have to tell _you_ everything because I promised you first-"

Yuki beamed happily at the development. _'Looks like I won't have to use my reward on that, after all!'_ She could worry about what to use it on later. Right now was a little too important to get distracted.

"-and I can't just tell someone that doesn't know he's waiting before I tell someone that does know that she's waiting!" Haru suddenly blinked in surprise, one foot stuck out in a step that wasn't taken. She stared into space for a long moment before she began laughing at herself. "Well, _I'm_ an idiot!" burst out of her lips as she let that foot rest on the blue carpet once more.

"Hey!" Yuki protested angrily, but her mother was already rubbing one hand against soft white hair to console her.

"I'll tell Baron we'll talk it over after our contracts are finished," she promised with a wide smile. "If we try to date while Drac is still in the picture, I _know_ he'll find a way to lock Baron out of the way and tell me, ' **he couldn't make it, so I'm taking date night in his stead** '." Haru scowled as she realized something else. "Or worse, he'll use his contract on Baron to abuse what I'd need to confide before letting Baron get himself into a permanent relationship with me. Trust me, this is information Drac would blow up a second world country to get his hands on. Maybe even a first world country."

Her daughter scowled at the unfortunate truth. "I forgot about him. But you'll for sure give Uncle Humbert a chance after this is over?" Yuki _definitely_ wanted to make sure that was carved in stone.

Haru took in a deep breath but nodded. "You, me, and him will be having a _long_ talk as soon as things are settled. If Baron still wants to be with me after what I've got to say, well… it'll be because he'll know how to help me. Cross your fingers," she added with a teasing smile.

Yuki obeyed immediately, grinning from ear to ear as the cheering from her friends and family intensified in her skull.

ooOoo

Not even getting thrown against a dungeon wall could dampen Baron's ecstatic mood. Sure, the room seemed to spin in his vision, but it may have done that anyway with the glorious confirmation he had been aching after for months.

Haru would accept him. All he had to do was tell the truth and call in the multiple favors the royal family owed him, and it would be happily ever after for-

"How _dare_ you?!" Drac demanded at the top of his lungs. He picked the lord up by the neck of the long black robe he was forced to wear for the movie and pinned him harshly against the stone wall. "Did I stutter even _once_? Haru is **mine**!"

Baron still couldn't resist the ridiculously happy grin still plastered over his face as he started thinking about the glorious future ahead of him. "I don't know why you're so upset. You _**did**_ predict this at our first meeting, as I recall."

Drac raised his cane to hit his captured slave with it, but almost immediately began wobbling from the lack of additional support. Still glaring, he set the end of his cane back on the ground while releasing the cat. "When she comes to you, tell her you were joking, you do this with every woman you fancy."

Baron rubbed the side of his head while still grinning. With Haru's taste on his lips, what could have a prayer of upsetting him? "All right." _'Does he_ _ **really**_ _think that she'll believe I suddenly changed my mind about pursuing her? Haru is many things, but 'stupid' doesn't make the list.'_

That made the larger man glare in disgust. "You will be convincing," he ordered, but this had little effect on the cat. "And stop grinning like that!"

Baron could feel the muscles under his fur force themselves into a more controlled smile, although it hurt for the spell to enforce that. _'It's almost sad that he thinks Haru won't see through my lies. I bet she'll even play along to amuse herself.'_

"In fact, stop smiling at all," Drac decided with disgust, marching back to his table to finish adding ingredients to the bubbling glass canister suspended by wire over a small flame. "You don't look like yourself when you smile."

Baron did want to protest that the opposite was truth. That thanks to Haru, he was feeling more like himself than he had in years, and he _liked_ it. His mouth was forced into a dull unfeeling line that it should have been more comfortable with, considering that it had been his usual expression for over a decade.

He actually _loved_ how uncomfortable that face was now! Once this was over, he doubted he would ever wear it again. Especially with Haru's hand in marriage as extra incentive.

Drac looked over his shoulder as he fiddled with a small glass vial from his jacket pocket, trying to steady himself on the side of the table. He scowled angrily at what he saw. "Now remove _that_ look from your eyes immediately."

Baron lips automatically tried to smirk, but they were still frozen in place. " _So_ sorry to disappoint you," he drawled, inserting all the sarcasm he could into his tone to make up for the lack of facial expressions. "But your contract only controls my physical actions, the ones I actually have willpower over. My mind and emotions are precisely that. _Mine_. The same goes for Haru's mind and emotions, no matter how little you care for the notion."

Drac's glare seemed to glow momentarily red from the torchlight of the dungeons, which were locked off from all but the two of them. " _For now_." Turning his attention back to his task, his rage-shaken hands finally managed to uncork the little clear vial.

It looked like it contained a small amount of brown thread, likely wound between two fingers before getting wound tightly the other way to bind it into a tiny untangled bundle.

Baron's heart pitter-pattered unsteadily at the man's intentions. "I'm certain that potion calls for blood." _'Not that I want you to get it right, mind.'_

Not that he thought the potion would help that bigot win over Haru in any case. Frankly, Baron had doubts on whether or not a _lust_ potion would help.

"Well, maybe if my _yellow-bellied_ doctors had collected an uncontaminated sample of Haru's blood after she was through with me, I wouldn't have to make do with a hair sample!" Drac snapped back, tilting the vial into the long open tube leading into the canister where the rest of the potion was brewing. "That hydra was almost a complete waste of resources and time, but anything less and she would have grown suspicious. Now thanks to you, there isn't any time to arrange a small accident to collect something better."

Baron felt his blood chill in his veins as the potion made the hair start dissolving, turning it a bright red instead of a milky white like it was supposed to. "You really shouldn't-"

"Shut up!" Drac snarled at him, shaking the concoction to make certain everything was evenly mixed as the hair continued to dissolve within, even though he had to put on a thick leather glove to keep from getting burned by the hot glass.

The potion turned a brighter and brighter red until it reminded Baron of a human traffic sign, indeed screaming 'stop'. He wanted to protest again, but even without the signal that meant it, his jaw was now tightly clamped shut, and his vocal chords too loose to vibrate.

Once the last of the hair was dissolved, Drac carefully lifted it off the small flame and set it in a nearby bin full of crushed ice to force it to cool down faster. " _This_ will prove it to you! _I'm_ the one for her, you got that?! _**ME!**_ And if you think for one second that I'm going to let some cat steal my future from me because he can't keep his lips to himself, you're dead wrong. Emphasis on **dead** before I'm through with you," he added darkly, staring intently at the glass canister, only taking it off the rapidly melting ice when the glass began to crack from the rapidly changed temperature.

The next bit felt unbearably long to both of them, Drac because he was impatient to get on with the final step and Baron because he couldn't distract himself with thoughts of his future with Haru to forget about the fact that his 'master' had messed up the potion.

There have only been a handful of times when botching a spell or potion has worked out favorably, and even fewer times when the original botcher was around or even mentally sound enough to see the results of their mistake. Without the required leave from his 'master', Baron was going to be forced to watch whatever firework Drac had unintentionally created.

After what felt like a year, the disgusting human smiled, uncorking the glass vial in order to guzzle the contents after sneaking a dark smirk at his captive.

' _This is not going to end well,'_ Baron knew without a doubt, although he could do little more than place himself at the farthest corner of the room where a chair was close by if he needed a makeshift weapon.

Such a thing would be worthless to someone that could make him literally lie down and take any punishment, but it made Baron feel slightly better.

The feline lord was more or less used to panic and chaos in his life. There was always Thomas' and Renaldo's little squabbles that would sometimes get out of hand, there were tournaments when a certain action had long-standing repercussions, and he couldn't forget those troublesome children that thought that forcing his cousin's rabbits into a stampede was a riot until he had a little chat with their parents.

But there was nothing he could do to stop the calamity taking shape in front of him.

The last of the ruby-red liquid flowed down the round glass container narrow opening and into Drac's throat, making him repress a shudder from the taste as he uncaringly chucked the empty container at a wall to shatter it. He checked his pulse with a small frown and began tapping his strangely tiny foot impatiently as the seconds ticked by. "Come on. Any minute now." His entire body rippled with a shudder, making him smile in satisfaction. "Ahh, there it-"

An unearthly scream ripped through his mouth without warning, making Baron cover his triangular ears with a pained grimace. Although it was sickening to watch his captor writhe and knock the table over with his convulsions, the feline lord found that he couldn't look away. The overly fancy cane had also fallen, and Baron couldn't help but feel that its neglected state was a forebearer of things to come.

' _At least he already had me soundproof the dungeons,'_ Baron couldn't help being grateful for. The last thing either of them needed was a crowd of people getting curious about the unholy screaming.

Then the change began.

Even as he continued to writhe and scream from untold agony, the sound of ripping cloth steadily became louder as the expensive shirt and jacket literally tore apart at the seams, unable to contain a chest that grew half again the size it had been before. There were sickening muffled cracks that were all too easily identified as his skeletal structure rapidly began adjusting itself. The already almost comical difference between the upper half of the body and lower became accentuated as the pants only stayed around Drac's waist because he was rolling on the ground in complete agony as opposed to standing up. Even the fingers seemed to grow longer, and the pants forcefully worked themselves down enough to let a bony tail begin slithering out like a snake emerging from its den.

It was the only part of Drac's exposed skin that didn't start growing thin grey fur. His ears climbed up the sides of his head while turning smaller and flattening out, his skull stretched forward as if it were made of taffy.

Then it was finally over. Drac lay panting on the stone floor, almost grateful for the cold dampness on his aching body as tears streamed down his contorted face.

Baron had seen many things in his time. Dragons, hydras, even sphinxes were to be had by the score in his dimension if one knew where to look. He could recognize with ease what Drac had turned into, and only his horror could keep him from laughing his head off.

' _I could have put money on this! I_ _ **should**_ _have placed money on this! All the signs were there!'_ Baron really did want to laugh at how obvious the truth had been. If he had been with Haru or Hilary and talking about this as a possibility, he would have believed it in a heartbeat and said something that would surely make either of them laugh. But seeing it actually happen, being unable to stop it…

Baron was going to need the sleeping potion for a while. A few months at the very least.

Drac slowly sat up, blinking in surprise as he moved his arms and legs experimentally. "Hey!" He hopped to his feet, one strange hand just holding his pants up as gravity attempted to claim them. "This… the ache's all gone!" He actually managed to laugh in pure delight, jumping into the air again in order to click the heels of his now too-big shoes that were threatening to fly off his feet. "It's like Haru never touched me! I haven't felt this good since before _college_!"

The ex-human turned expectantly to his captive, but lost hold on his new ecstasy at the disgusted look on the cat's face.

Baron couldn't help it. If he'd had more time to cope with the shock, he would have been able to force indifference onto his features once more but witnessing a transformation like this wasn't something you could just brush off.

Drac forced the jubilation from his system and pointed at the wall. "Turn that into a mirror again," he commanded like he had forgotten to wear his crown that day.

Though it was the last thing Baron wanted to do, his feet turned disobediently to make him face the wall, his hand rose to make the usual gesture, and the correct words came unbidden to his tongue. As soon as the surface began to ripple reflectively, he turned away again in order to cover his ears once more.

It proved to be a good move. The second round of screaming immediately followed.

xxXxx

A/N: The spider and fly quote is from Charles Addams' 'The Addams Family' and is used by Morticia Addams. So much love for her!


	36. Tough

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Tough**

 _You try to be tough, but your armor's just not hard enough._

 _-Tamatoa, from Disney's 'Moana'_

 **xxXxx**

 _She truly was an enchanting sight on the ice. Granted, Baron was starting to believe she'd be an enchanting sight if she took over Louise' old job of birthing rabbit kits, but the point still stood._

 _Come to think of it, he had no trouble picturing Haru doing that. She may even be delighted to be covered in blood that wasn't earned from violence, for once._

 _Baron shook such thoughts out of his head so that he could continue to enjoy the dazzling show Haru was putting on for him as a music player blared out next to him to set her beat._

 _Ice ballet. Only_ _ **humans**_ _could have thought of something so ridiculous, and yet entrancing at the same time. Last time he had seen a dancer move this smoothly, it had been on strings, and there were plenty of children sitting as close to the puppet theatre as they could get away with._

 _A bit like himself, actually. He was sitting on a tree trunk almost to the edge of the frozen lake, his entire body on the very edge of his makeshift seat so that he wouldn't miss even a single movement._

 _She spun, twirled, and slid across the ice so elegantly, it made Baron's heart ache. He let out a long, contented sigh as the song ended, and a more… rambunctious one took its place._

 _Haru noticed as well, and although she had on more than one occasion livened up her skating with a song this… um, well the beat was faster and the words were louder, at least. But she was smoothly gliding to him with that familiar gesture to turn it off._

 _Baron made sure to only press the button with the right symbol on it this time. He did not care for the loud 'static' that followed the time he pushed the wrong button. He looked up just in time to see Haru about to kneel and sit in the snow next to his tree trunk._

" _You can sit on my lap if you'd rather," he offered while trying to keep the hope out of his tone. He even adjusted himself back onto the full of the tree trunk so that he wouldn't have to trust two inches to be enough for both of them._

 _A small corner of his mind said that he should just give her the tree trunk like a gentlecat, but… well, who could honestly expect him to be selfless_ _ **all**_ _the time?_

 _Haru gave a speculative look at his lap before raising an eyebrow at him._

" _We both know you would knock me into last year if I were stupid enough to do anything you didn't care for," he added with a soft smile, holding his arms out to her. "Come on."_

 _He was almost stupid enough to add, 'there's no one else around to witness this'._

 _Haru gave him a small laugh and smile before sliding easily onto his lap and wrapping one arm around his neck to help keep herself balanced. "So much for your skating lessons, huh?" she asked a little sheepishly._

" _I don't mind, now that the swelling's gone down," he insisted, using the precious excuse to steal a hug from her and keep his arms around her. "How many lessons did it take for you to get_ _ **that**_ _good?"_

 _Haru blushed and started studying a tree on the other side of the lake. "… None," she admitted while keeping her eyes fixed away from him. "My birth family is heavily linked with snow and ice, been that way for millennia. I've never slipped on ice, even once."_

 _Baron gaped at her in shock, even as his mind filed this away with the other tidbits he knew about her personal background._

" _I used to really annoy my hometown bullies with it," she managed to add cheerfully. "Anytime during the winter when they decided it would be fun to gang up on me, I could run across any rough spot without a hassle, or even slide to the middle of the frozen creek bed. They'd think it was safe since I had no trouble." A devilish smirk crossed her lips then. "The times they'd spend recovering from a broken leg or such were the only reprieve I ever got growing up. They weren't exactly fast learners. I only started experimenting with fancy moves after Dad brainwashed confidence into me."_

" _They earned every break and sprain," Baron snarled, tightening his hold on Haru possessively at the thought of anyone trying to hurt her. "How many competitions have you won for skating?"_

 _Haru smiled a little wryly, shaking her head to return to the present. "None. I try to keep quiet about this because I already have more trophies than I can count, and there are plenty of skaters that spend their whole lives fighting to get even one. It'd be awfully selfish of me to take that chance from them just because I have the right genetics to do it." She gave his neck a gentle squeeze before resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm having enough trouble convincing people I'm not perfect without them finding out about this, too."_

' _You're close enough for me,' Baron wanted to say, but didn't dare. It was still too soon to tell her he fully intended on carrying out her beloved true father's wishes. It was important to keep establishing his place at her side as trusted friend and confidant, since there would be time later to press his suit with her under more honest circumstances._

 _Baron smiled a little sheepishly as he thought of a somewhat new topic. "I must admit that when I believed those rumors, I was rather amused by the fact that not even a_ _ **mermaid**_ _would look at Drac with interest."_

 _Haru sniffed disdainfully. "He'd be good enough for a mermaid. But since all they care about is 'a good time', it's not like there would be a relationship for him to ruin." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Actually, he'd probably be happier with a real mermaid. They run in packs and are firm believers in sharing their 'toys'."_

 _Baron blinked at the small admission. Haru hadn't spoken as one making a good guess, she spoke as someone with personal knowledge. As was usual when it came to the rare times she ever talked about mermaids. He almost opened his mouth to ask how a mermaid and a human could have 'a good time' considering the large difference in anatomy. But he thankfully shut his mouth before she noticed anything._

 _There was a good chance he was better off not knowing._

 _Haru sighed mournfully as she snuggled against him to fight the chill. "It's probably too much to hope that all this will be over before my birthday. Drac always ruins them when he's in town for one." Suddenly she blinked and sat up a little straighter. "I'm such a selfish brat. When's your birthday, Baron?"_

 _He hadn't precisely been curving his body around Haru's in an effort to be closer to her, but such words made him sit up straight in a flash. "You are_ _ **not**_ _a selfish brat!" he snapped without thinking._

" _Down, Baron," she sighed while rolling her eyes heavenward. A few friendly pats to his shoulder assured him that it had been another joke._

" _Find a different way to be humorous," he growled low in his throat before counting to ten, since it seemed to work for her the handful of times she came close to losing her temper. "The fourth day of the fourth month."_

 _Haru's mouth fell open in shock, making her friend blink in surprise. "… How old?"_

 _The feline lord cocked his head at her for the strange reaction. "I'll be turning thirty this year. What's wrong?"_

 _Haru stared at him in disbelief for a whole minute, long enough to make him uncomfortable. "You were born the night I ran?" she asked in a tiny whisper._

 _Baron blinked. "As the clock was striking eight in the morning, actually."_

 _Haru finally forced her eyes off him to stare at her own lap. "The time difference… it would have been about perfect. I left as the clock was striking midnight. Your dimension's time is the same as this time zone?" she asked while turning a little panicked._

 _He nodded, more than a little surprised at this revelation. "My part of it, at least." 'So. We are even more linked than I thought.'_

xxXxx

Baron was still in shock the next day. His body seemed to move without needing him personally, taking the route it usually did through the castle. A distant part of his mind could acknowledge that his feet were moving faster than they normally did while he was thinking heavily like this but didn't bother questioning the reason why.

For she was waiting for him at the usual intersection of corridors where their paths always seemed to intersect on the way down for shooting.

She was beaming happily at him but took in a deep breath. "Because I left you alone with Drac, how about I spare you having to say anything you wouldn't of your own volition? We both know I won't believe it, and the real point would be to drive a wedge between us." Noticing that he was still worried, she placed a gentle hand on one furry cheek. "It's too soon for us to really talk about it, so would you mind waiting until after Drac's out of the picture?"

He shook his head to assure her he understood completely, and if it hadn't been for what he had witnessed after hearing what he had been desperate to know for months, he probably would have exclaimed with joy. "There won't be shooting today, or tomorrow. Drac has already informed the others via text."

Haru started in surprise. "After all that fussing and screaming about how 'my' temper tantrum put us months behind schedule? What's that rat up to _this_ time?"

Baron couldn't repress the shudder that wracked his body. "I am bound not to divulge any such information," he recited without any emotion except terror, but not for himself.

He knew full well he should have been. Drac all but promised that he would be killed for the kiss he had stolen from Haru, and yet his only concern _was_ for Haru. For him, no matter how long his death took, it would be over a lot more quickly than the torment that monster had in store for this sweet, unassuming true lady.

Haru looked at him, her eyes narrowing as she took in all the little signs that Baron was nervous, scared, and straining against invisible shackles for the chance to do something about it. "…Let me try again," she offered in a soft whisper while looking up into his eyes with what he privately referred to as her 'deadly serious' expression. "If I knew what you knew, what do you think I would do about it?"

"You would send Yuki, Toby, Hilary, and the Moon siblings to Sonya immediately, and for the undetermined future," he responded gratefully. "She'll know how to keep Drac from-mmh!" Blast it! He couldn't give hints about his contract! Drac had really tightened his grip on him since the next few days were requiring the ex-human to go into hiding.

For new clothes that fit, if nothing else. The feline lord had no idea what Drac had told his personal tailor to justify them _or_ the new measurements.

"Harming them?" Haru offered, touching his shoulder sympathetically. "The way he's harming you?"

Baron nodded, completely thrilled that she was getting the gist of it. "Also, double whatever weapons you're carrying on your person at all times, even in your bedroom. _Especially_ your bedroom," he added without trying to hide his disgust.

Haru nodded without surprise or question. "Anything else? Say 'no' to any suggestion you make that's outside the norm?"

"Within the norm is ill-advised as well. And don't drink any more of my tea until we're confident this is over with him. If I start blinking a lot, don't trust my actions or words." Baron wracked his brain, trying to think of anything else that would give her an edge on that… _thing_! "Please know that I will hold no grudges whatsoever if circumstances force you into knocking me out to focus on one opponent at a time. I'm afraid what happens from here will depend on your ability to be completely unpredictable, especially to _him_."

Haru gave him a gentle smile and leapt up just enough to wrap a hug around his neck and press a gentle kiss to one furry cheek to nearly make him swoon. "Just trust me, Baron," she whispered, giving him a grim smile. "Releasing unjust prisoners… is my ultimate specialty."

Baron blinked through the loving daze, since his reading through her fan files hadn't really spoken about that in more than a metaphorical sense. He didn't want to be metaphorically released from his contract; he wanted it shattered so that he could kick the pieces into even smaller ones and maybe get out a few good stamps over the overgrown brat while he was at it. He'd been bound for a little over a year now, and he was ready to be **done** with it all.

Haru patted his cheek with a smile that hinted she could read his troubled thoughts. "You'll find out soon enough, my friend. Before the week is out, if his scheme's finally coming to a head." Then she blinked and briefly looked down at his arms, hanging limply by his sides despite their twitching with the desire to hold her.

"Is that another one of Drac's orders?" she sighed in resignation, but no real surprise.

Baron nodded miserably. "But he said nothing about _accepting_ affection," he added with more than a little bit of hope.

Haru smiled and increased her hold on him, even nuzzling his neck with her head to make the hug bigger with only her effort. Baron closed his eyes and inhaled deeply to cement her unique scent into the vaults of his most precious memories. He absorbed everything he could of her, storing the strength away for when he would need it the most.

ooOoo

Haru brushed her hands over her daughter's soft hair and pressed one more kiss to her forehead. "Now, remember to be good, and to give Sonya my apologies about doing this without notice."

"She's been expecting something like this for months," Aunt Hiromi assured her concerned friend before stealing a hug of her own. "Don't worry about a thing. She more than understands that Drac is not a threat to be taken lightly."

Haru smiled a little grimly as she released her friend. "Neither is the chance he will use my loved ones as blackmail. You be a good boy and help protect Yuki, okay?" she cooed while rubbing Toby's tummy.

He wiggled with appreciation, but there was a small whimper to his throat, like he knew trouble was on the horizon.

"I know, boy. I _hate_ flying blind," she agreed, giving him a few more scratches before straightening enough to give a fond look up at Muta. "So, you big softie, think you can take them from here?"

He grinned at her, confident enough in their friendship to tug her into a warm hug. "Only if you take Drac from here."

"Invest in a mop," she retorted softly, clearly not looking forward to what she could sense was coming.

Yuki snuck in one more hug, clinging to her mother's waist around Muta's thick arms. "He's been the one pushing this, Mom. It won't be your fault."

Haru smiled down at her, but still with a trace of sadness. She took that hug as well but forced herself to also take a deep breath. "All of you had better go before we drag this on for the next two days. I'll escort you to the front doors."

Hilary immediately flinched since all they needed was the mirror hanging not five feet behind her. "Actually, Haru, I know a secret way out of the castle. The less obvious we make our departure to Drac, the better."

Haru didn't give it much thought before nodding with approval. "In that case… be safe?" she pleaded, stealing one last hug from everyone before forcing herself to march out the door Harold was holding open for her.

This time, unlike the others, he let himself into the room before closing and locking the door. Yuki came forward to add the hair chain she had made months before to make it even harder for anyone to enter the room again and find out what they had done.

While they were doing that, Hilary released the spell that made Yuki's room seem as normal as ever. Books on the shelves rapidly returned to a thin layer of dust. The wardrobe that always looked like it was on the verge of exploding open from all the dresses within obediently gave a groan, and the grain seemed to relax inward from the lack of pressure. Even the treasured photos and leash on the nightstand wavered and faded away until the only sign left that the room had been occupied recently were the relatively fresh sheets and the surprisingly little amount of dust or clutter.

"All right, Yuki. You first," Hilary insisted, holding out a hand to help her tiny niece onto the vanity and through the mirror.

Once on the other side, the little girl straightened without a problem, turning around and grabbing the leash Hilary passed through to her. Toby was used to this method of travel by now, so it didn't confuse him at all to suddenly be back in the royal palace within the royal suite.

Nathaniel was waiting for them, ticking off every name on his checklist as the cats came through, one by one. Julia was after Toby, and Renaldo used his older brother rank to make Harold go before himself.

Once Hilary was through, the advisor smiled thinly and lowered his clipboard. "Then all are accounted for, save for Baron and the lady. And Thomas, of course."

The young noblecat nodded worriedly, drawing her niece into a possessive embrace. "They'll be along soon," she stated, trying to project the confidence that she didn't quite feel.

It wasn't like her brother to keep secrets _this_ big to himself.

Something was wrong.

ooOoo

Those two days felt like the longest in Yuki's entire life. Even more than the years before meeting her beloved mother, since she had no idea there would be an end to those dark days. She could _just_ see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it was perhaps the most beautiful thing she would ever see.

Coming clean to her mother. The transformation that would allow her mother to finally 'grow up' enough to make a big sister out of her beloved daughter. Get the chance to see her mother's wedding to Uncle Humbert and having the beloved woman present at Yuki's own nuptials. Sonya and Aunt Hiromi were already putting their heads together for the details, and Yuki strongly suspected that the best seamstresses in the land were already hard at work on the perfect dress for her mother. Uncle Humbert would probably be relieved to not relive doing that, and her mother would be moved to tears that people loved her enough to take care of the planning without a thought or even waiting for an opening to volunteer. Sonya would make sure that things wouldn't go overboard, which would be the only thing that Uncle Humbert would beg for.

Yuki tried not to prowl the castle like a starved wolf in search of a bite, but she couldn't help it. Every fiber of her being was on edge, almost to the point where she could feel individual blood cells flow through her veins to accommodate her constant exercise. She pulled out the pocket watch with her birth mother's picture to check the time again.

Not even evening of the second day. The little kitten growled in frustration, shoving the pocket watch back into the invisible pocket of her dress.

Muta was staying close to her, of course, but Lune was striving to stay even closer. The only one closer than the prince was a worried Toby, who did his best to comfort Yuki by attempting to rub his body against her leg as she marched from hallway to garden to pathway in no particular order or rhythm.

The prince wracked his brain for something that would at least pass the time. Distract her from the inevitable even if it was just for a little while.

"You know, we could always have you go through the ritual and restore your true appearance so that you won't need at least _one_ of those amulets," Lune tried helpfully, but the white kitten shook her head.

One hand was near her throat, almost thoughtlessly playing with both the amulet that made her look like a cat, and the one Sonya had given her to ensure that Drac couldn't trap her like he did Uncle Humbert.

There was a matching one for Hilary.

"I want to go through the ritual with Mom," the white kitten explained firmly as they continued their march through the latest garden. "We've never done things separately when we can do them together. She really is going to love it here," Yuki sighed in longing. "Visits to Uncle Bruce are probably going to be the only reason she ever wants to visit the Human World again." Then she suddenly gave the prince a smirk not unlike her uncle's. "Besides, your father will probably want to make a big occasion out of the ritual. Trumpets and fancy clothes with a nice long speech, a big celebration afterward that lasts at least twenty-four hours…"

Lune sighed tiredly at the predictable list. "You're probably right. If Mother let him plan anything without restraint, he'd probably outdo your aunt."

Yuki shuddered in horror, remembering her birthday celebration all too well. Noticing a stone bench they were approaching, she decided to sit and enjoy the scenery for a while.

It wasn't until Muta collapsed in front of it that she realized she had been driving him a little too hard.

"Muta! I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt you," she apologized, kneeling at her bodyguard's side and touching his heaving side out of sympathy.

Toby didn't have any to give. He just plopped down next to Yuki and stayed there while whimpering about his throbbing feet.

"W…We're… worried… too," the giant cat was able to pant between attempts to catch his breath. A hand wandered down to the water skin he had thoughtfully tied to his belt when Yuki had insisted on a walk… that had started three hours ago.

Lune hadn't been with her for the entire time, but even he was gingerly setting himself on one side of the stone bench with a wince. "No one is… blaming you… Yuki," he managed to agree while fighting off a dizzy spell.

Yuki gave him a helpless look, gathering Toby into her arms in order to claim half of the bench. "It's… just… we've _never_ been separated longer than a few hours! This is worse than torture; I want her _here_ , right now. I miss her hugs so much! I just want that rat to disappear so that the rest of us can move on with our lives and not have to worry about if he's going to mess things up, again!"

Toby did his best to comfort her, now that he was provided with the soft comfort of her satin-covered lap. He licked one hand until it started playing with his long ears in both distraction and affection.

Muta still couldn't say anything. He was busy trying to gulp down water between his gasps for air.

Lune desperately wanted to put an arm around her, to tell her that everything was going to be all right. But it was hard not to let everyone else's anxiety get to him, especially when he was always so worried that one wrong move or word was going to permanently ruin his chances with his future wife.

At a loss for anything better to come to mind, he slid closer to her and offered a hand for support. She gripped it without question, even as the other hand stayed preoccupied with rubbing Toby's fur.

ooOoo

"What are your friends doing?" that familiar voice snarled.

Baron forced the mirror to turn to where his sister and niece were having dinner with the royal family. He cheered up slightly at seeing the protective charms on them but was careful not to be obvious about it.

"They are in my world, waiting for time to pass," Baron's lips unwillingly reported, even though it did his heart good to see how far his king and queen were willing to protect his family. "They have no inkling of your plan."

Even if the royal family had _personal_ reasons to want to keep Yuki safe, that was more than enough for him.

"Will they be able to cross your barrier again?" that harsh voice demanded.

"Not from that side. I am now the only one that will be able to cross or open the barrier."

A low grumble tried to pass itself off as a purr. "Excellent. What is Haru doing?"

Praying that she was decent, Baron switched the mirror to focus on the lady's bedroom.

The keeper of his heart was performing stretching exercises in her normal clothes, her sweet face grim and determined as she flicked her new blades between her fingers with a practiced ease. One could tell at a glance that if her planned moves didn't kill, they would at least permanently maim.

"Preparing herself," Baron reported, unable to keep the relief from his tone.

Behind him, a shadowy figure chuckled as he lounged on his favorite thinking chair. "It will occupy her until tomorrow. Such a shame that it ultimately won't mean a thing."

' _Come on, Haru!'_ the feline lord thought desperately. _'Shock him! Shock me! Shock everyone, but don't let his plan work!'_

"Why don't you call your feathered friend and send him to your world as well? I think your friends forgot to take him home," the ex-human sneered out of nowhere, more than smug that he hadn't forgotten the troublesome crow.

' _Forgot, was hoping_ _ **you'd**_ _forget so that Haru could get some unexpected assistance again. Does it make a difference? I should have known he'd remember.'_ Baron kept praying for a miracle as he left the room to find Thomas.

If he was going to be forced to send this little spark of hope back, he'd rather do it as a gentlecat than allow Drac the chance to make him handle the crow harshly.

' _Please, Haru…'_

ooOoo

This was it. The day of judgement. No matter how things ended, it would end today.

Yuki was sitting in the throne room, on the ornate chair next to the thrones that was usually reserved for the truth seer in training. She could see Lune looking at her worriedly from the corner of his eye but could do little more thanks to custom. Her aunt was standing as close to the ornate chair as propriety would allow for the moment, giving them the window of opportunity to pass each other encouraging smiles. Muta was directly behind her, also dressed nicer for the occasion, and not looking all that happy about it.

"Will it really be appropriate for Duchess Yuki to witness the proceedings, your majesties?" Nathaniel inquired while giving her a worried look of his own.

Sonya gave him a soft glare. "Appropriate or not, I believe she has more right than the entire court to know how her mother will handle the latest mess that rat's planning to saddle her with."

"Never mind the improbability that you will find a sturdy enough dungeon to hold me," Yuki added with only the touch of iron in her tone. "Toby is with Julia, and he would create a _lot_ more trouble than me."

Nathaniel knew better than to question further, although there was more than a touch of disapproval to his frown as they all stared at the marble floor, which had been changed into a giant looking glass in addition to the large mirrors stationed all around the throne room so that there would not be a single occupant without a view.

Only the mirrors had been used in the fight with the hydra, but now that the feline court were aware that Haru's vocal abilities were merely the tip of her iceberg, no one wanted to miss a thing.

Yuki impatiently tapped her claws on the polished wood of her armrest, not so much wanting the show to start as much as she ached for it to **finally** end.

After the king finally gave the signal, all the curtains were drawn against the morning sun to make the images more vivid, and the connection was made.

Yuki could only sigh in longing as her mother appeared, looking almost like the court was observing her through a glass floor that Haru was too preoccupied to look up and notice.

 _She was in the peasant brown dress again, though one could see here and there the slight bulge of weapons against her limbs and torso under her dress as she unsteadily made her way through a dark corridor under the castle._

Human ears have always proven to dull to hear it, but Yuki recognized the familiar static of spy cameras lined on both sides of the long stone walls.

If not for all the obvious hints, she would have wondered why Drac was bothering with spy cameras again instead of camera men. The white kitten gripped her cushioned armrests harder, barely alert enough to appreciate that despite the number of cats in the room, a dropping pin would have been the loudest sound on this side of the dimensional barrier.

 _Haru tried to keep her movements light and fluid as if her character were sneaking around like a thief inside a forbidden castle, but a trained eye would have noticed how every muscle was like a coiled spring, only waiting for the trigger._

 _At the end of the long stone corridor was a thick heavy door with an impressive lock, flanked with a single torch burning in its ring on the wall. Haru looked at it carefully before extracting a long brass pin from one sleeve to poke and twist at it experimentally, casting an occasional wary glance behind herself until the lock finally clicked for her. Brown hair just barely flowed over her shoulders with every head movement, now that Yuki's haircut had grown out a bit._

Everyone on the cat side of the barrier could sense the small tendril of magic that had really opened the door, _but Haru smiled in satisfaction before slipping the brass pin where it had been hiding and had to heave on the door to get it to swing slightly open._

 _All that was immediately present through that darkness was a set of stone stairs. Grabbing the torch, Haru managed to slip through and walk down them._

' _A real thief would have left the torch and closed the door after going through,'_ Yuki knew in a heartbeat, and she knew for a fact that her mother knew that.

But she also knew that the movie was… low, on the list of her mother's priorities. That open door might prove to be a key factor later if she and Baron needed to escape in a hurry.

Besides, it wasn't like the ones within didn't know she was on her way.

 _These were the dungeons. Every castle worth the building had at least one. Important ones even had two types; the cellar ones for the common enemies, and the comfortable ones in a tower or other easily guarded structure for ones of political or personal importance._

 _Most of the cells had their doors left open so that Haru could look into them with no difficulty, but there was never anything more interesting than a rusty chamber pot or broken furniture. But there was another cell at the end of this depressing corridor as well. It was mostly closed, but the thin strip of light around the cracks said that someone was waiting within, as silent as the grave._

 _Haru broke character long enough to roll her eyes heavenward,_ almost loudly enough for her daughter to hear her think 'could he _get_ any more clichéd than this?'

Yuki raised one hand to her mouth to cover a smile. How _did_ her mother always know how to insert humor when it was so desperately needed?

 _Haru rested one hand on that door, mentally stabilizing herself against whatever was to come. She squared her shoulders, took in a deep breath, and gave that door a harsh shove as well._

 _There was a table in the immediate view of the door. A single white candle was burning on an intricate candlestick, one that was too fine to be normally found anywhere near the dungeons. A plain note with a wax seal was patiently waiting next to it._

 _Rolling her eyes yet again, Haru came forward, pointedly waving her torch around the room as she went, most certainly not stupid enough to just walk into a room without checking to see if someone was waiting to slam the door shut as soon as she was within their grasp. Keeping one hand on the torch, she managed to break the seal against the edge of the table with one hand, then unfolding it for the message._

Since she knew the majority of the feline nobility couldn't read English, Yuki accidentally spooked most of them by reading the note aloud since her mother wasn't doing it.

 _ **You followed me,**_

 _ **I followed you,**_

 _ **We were like each other's shadows for a while.**_

 _ **Now as you see**_

 _ **This game is through,**_

 _ **Your destiny is to walk down the aisle.**_

" _But not to you," Haru muttered under her breath, feeding the note to the torch without so much as a twitch._

 _Drac materialized behind her, more than likely with Baron's help. But it was not a Drac that anyone was expecting._

Even Yuki couldn't help but gasp, getting a good look at her mother's stalker as she distantly heard the other members of the court also exclaim and begin talking; some in surprise but most with disgust.

"SILENCE!" Queen Sonya commanded to make sure that nothing would be overlooked _as attention returned once more to the image on the floor and mirrors._

 _There was no other way to put it; the strangely proportioned human was now an even more strangely proportioned giant rat. He seemed almost bigger than life itself, his top hat nearly touching the ceiling of the slightly larger cell as he smirked, looking at the back of his intended victim up and down before opening his mouth for a retort. Likely something cheesy along the lines of 'that's what_ _ **you**_ _think!'_

 _Before he had the chance, Haru turned around and gave him a bored expression. Almost like materializing out of thin air was no big deal to her. "I knew it, I_ _ **knew**_ _you were going to do a cameo. I already told you, Drac, you're no ninja."_

 _The giant rat blinked in shock. "Is that all?" he demanded, holding his massive arms out to make sure she could see every inch of him as his naked tail curled up by one side. "Notice… **anything** else?!"_

" _A new tie," her mother responded indifferently, flicking a tiny bit of rock out from between two stone slabs in the nearest wall. "Pink and purple have always been your favorite colors. I never knew why you bothered denying it. You know, this isn't enough lighting. This will never show up on the cameras, you sure you don't want this reshot? I mean, I did break character." She turned her body toward the big door she had entered through, still holding up the torch to light more than her path and possibly in case she needed it as a weapon._

 _Drac gave some anguished snarls that made it clear that he would have even preferred hysterical screaming to her indifference._

 _She looked over at him, pausing right before the exit. "I hope you know that if this is how you're planning to end the movie, it won't make a lick of sense, and it'll cost you any chances you had of a theater release."_

" _Oh, shut up! I'm not releasing this movie!" Drac yelled at the top of his lungs, snapping his fingers to make the thick door slam shut and lock itself._

 _An identical sound from the other side of the door screaming that the other door she had opened was now similarly blocked off, doubly trapping the occupants._

 _Both times, Drac's magic wasn't the one responsible._

" _I was_ _ **going**_ _to, but now it's just loose ends!" He marched up to her until she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. "I sent all the crews packing last night! Didn't you notice that no one was around but that note by your door?! Or in the halls? The kitchens?"_

" _I'd have been stupid not to." She crossed her arms, still holding the torch with one hand just right to keep it from burning her hair off. "Is this_ _ **really**_ _where you want to end our disagreement, Drac? I'd have thought the battlements would have been more dramatic, and the accompanying music would-"_

" _Didn't you hear me?! This movie isn't for the public!" the rat screamed, almost beside himself with fury from getting no reaction from her at all. He tried to grab her chin, but an upward jab with her own hand made him take a few steps back and shake his hand while giving what had clearly been a minor injury an incredulous look, like he couldn't believe she would have dared to do such a thing._

 _Despite the fact that he should have learned to expect it by now._

 _Haru gave the rat monster a very direct, piercing look. "Would you like to know why your appearance doesn't shock or surprise me?" she asked in a calm tone that seemed wildly inappropriate considering the amount of danger she was in._

 _He looked up, almost surprised that she had noticed, after all._

" _It's because this," she gestured to his giant rat body as if she saw this sort of thing every day, but never enjoyed it. "… Is precisely how I've_ _ **always**_ _seen you." Her smile turned decidedly chill as his fury grew. "You've been very naughty, haven't you, Drac? Playing with things you don't understand? I bet it hurt like the dickens." She even had the audacity to make a tsking sound with her tongue and waving the torch in a 'no no' gesture. "So sorry to disappoint you but running and crying to me won't do a thing. The change you brought on yourself has no reversal. By refusing to renounce me, you have renounced your humanity and all chances to live unmolested in this world without staying in the shadows."_

 _It was only here that there grew a touch of sympathy in her large brown eyes. "Tell me the truth. Was getting rejected by me a handful of more times, this time in favor of someone that's as close to perfect for me as you can get,_ _ **actually**_ _worth it?"_

 _Drac was literally shaking with rage by now but forced himself to calm down. After a while he was even able to_ _ **smile**_ _at her, though there was no warmth in the gesture. "This is probably the only thing Baron and I will ever be able to agree on, Haru. Getting to be with you is worth_ _ **everything**_ _."_

 _He snapped his gloved fingers one last time._

 _It was a surprise to no one that Haru had come armed to the teeth for this final showdown. She knew better than anyone that even the tiniest blade might help if her bare hands wouldn't do the trick._

 _Unfortunately, Drac was counting on her wearing that much steel._

Everyone in court could see the flare of Baron's magic as it briefly turned the dangerous objects into a smooth silvery liquid, ran out over her limbs and to the ground before turning solid enough to force Haru to sharply cross her arms over her chest and her legs to become tightly bound together in under the space of a second.

 _Even as she cried out in surprise, the torch accidentally went flying, though Drac was able to catch it without much effort and slip it into one of the usual iron rings hanging from the wall for just such a purpose._

 _By the time he turned around to smirk at Haru again, the liquidated weapons had the woman pinned tightly in place by the metal as it finished solidifying into its original strength, like she had been forged into the wiry embrace of an iron sculpture. She was struggling, naturally, but the one who had imprisoned her had been thorough enough to leave no openings for escape._

" _ **Thank you**_ _for giving Baron so much material to work with," he sneered before looking over her shoulder. "That was very kind of her, wasn't it, Baron?"_

 _The feline lord allowed his own invisibility spell to wear off, showing to the world that the previous twenty-four hours were the most miserable of his life. His eyes, which of late had sparkled with such happiness that he hadn't dreamed would be his again were now dull where they were not full of anger._

" _She doesn't deserve this, and you know it," he snarled at the rat that had enslaved him._

 _Drac only gave a noncaring shrug while still grinning in triumph. "Then she should have accepted my first proposal like she promised to."_

 _Now that Haru was sore from struggling, she glared at Drac while giving a sniff of disdain. "I never promised that, and I think the fact that you're willing to go this far says loud and clear that turning you down was one of my better life choices. So, what now?" Her scowl deepened. "If you tell me there's a bribed priest hiding in another corner somewhere-"_

" _All in good time," he assured her while gloatingly holding her chin so that he could gaze on his prize. "… and in a better setting than this. Because you were right about something else, Haru. I_ _ **do**_ _miss Harry Jones terribly. Why, I'd do anything to get her back in my life. Absolutely_ _ **anything**_ _."_

In the Cat Dimension, nearly everyone gasped in horror. Even Yuki, who hadn't been told of such a spell yet, knew what that overgrown rat had in mind.

 _Haru gaped slightly before an unearthly rage filled her features. "You wouldn't_ _ **dare**_ _go that far!" she snarled, tearing her chin out of his grasp with one head movement._

" _Oh, wouldn't I?" he purred, knowing full well that she couldn't stop him now._

 _Haru desperately renewed her struggle now that she knew how serious her own peril was, but the metal vines were too many even for_ _ **her**_ _strength. Drac did nothing for now, content with gloating that for the first time in months, he was in complete control of the situation._

Yuki crossed all the fingers she could, hoping that her mother could figure out a way out of this mess, just like all the others.

 _At long last, Haru hmphed angrily through her tired gasps. "Well, at least I'll have the comfort of knowing you'll never be able to make me sing like Dad could."_

Yuki's eyebrows raised as a second gasp escaped her control. _'No, I heard wrong. Or Mom's trying to lure him into a false sense of security before dropping the bomb on him.'_

If all it took to get the best of Haru Yoshioka was to bind her hand and foot, even her _daughter_ knew that she would have died fairly early in her career.

" _Of course I will," Drac assured her while insultingly patting her on the cheek. "We both know how far you'll go to please someone who loves you."_

" _That's_ _ **why**_ _I kept turning you down, you blockhead!" Haru screamed at the top of her lungs, using his proximity to at least hurt his ears one last time. "You have never even_ _ **once**_ _managed to_ _convince me that you actually love me! Love is a partnership, and you only know how to be a master! This proves it!"_

 _Drac sighed. "Why would marriage be a partnership when it's the_ _ **man**_ _that's the head of the family? Ready the spell Baron."_

 _The cat struggled desperately to disobey, and he did his best not to raise one hand or let it be filled with a grey mist. But he still drew closer, approaching the lady he loved from behind and raising that dangerous hand until it was mere inches from the side of her head. That poor hand was shaking terribly, but resistance was futile._

 _Drac's will_ _ **would**_ _be done._

" _F-Forgive me?" Baron choked through his tears._

 _Haru painfully turned her head to look up at him with a gentle smile that held no anger for_ _ **him**_ _. "I never blame the weapon for the one holding it. I love-"_

" _Enough of that," Drac barked, angry that even in his moment of triumph Haru was forgetting him for his rival. "Baron, erase precisely the last thirty years from her mind. Immediately."_

 _Still sobbing, Baron's hand slammed into her temple of its own accord, seeping the mist into her brain as she tried to angle her head away, but there was no escape for her this time._

 _Her eyes turned to blank silver as a result, and a terrible scream of loss and pain escaped her throat, filling the room and the hallway beyond with one last terrible song that was joined almost immediately with Baron's cry of despair._

Yuki's heart froze in fear as something far worse than even her darkest nightmare happened right before her eyes.

Her mother was very literally being forced to forget about Yuki's existence. She would be right back to the easily manipulated, scared little girl she had been before crossing paths with so much as Louis, never mind the man who adopted her and brought her talents to full bloom.

"No!" she screamed, trying to bring her power down on her uncle, to fling him away from her mother.

Baron would have more than forgiven her if she had been able to manage it… but she wasn't. Even with her great power, it wasn't enough to reach across the dimensional barrier her uncle had been forced to erect last year. Without another family member on the Human side of it to bring people over for help, Haru was on her own.

Drac had been clever enough to even use her mother's protective nature against her, simply letting her cut off her only chances for backup before proceeding with his own plans.

"Mom!" Yuki screamed as her mind seemed to shut down as the entire court also began screaming, some for the rat to stop his plan, and others for Haru to break free, or even for Baron to break free from the rat's terrible hold.

 _All those hopes were in vain. After what felt like eternity, Baron finally took his hand away from Haru's temple, and she sagged against her metal bonds like a limp doll that had never known life._

 _Drac excitedly moved forward to grab her around the restraints. "Release her," he commanded Baron, who was still weeping as the metal seemed to turn the consistency of water, running off Haru's limbs until they solidified into a large puddle on the stone floor. It almost looked like a misshapen mirror, but there were other things to worry about just now._

 _The rat's face had turned surprisingly gentle as he cradled the slender woman between his large arms. "The best part is I won't need an obedience spell to control her. As far as Harry Jones was concerned, she already has one."_

" _ **Monster**_ _," Baron snarled, in the worst agony as he was forced to watch the rat take his first kiss from the unconscious woman._

It was all the onlookers could do to keep their breakfasts as Hilary started trying to step through a window to get at the creep!

" _ **Fiend. Snake.**_ _You'll regret this, I_ _ **swear!**_ _" Baron stated, his every muscle twitching with the desire to move forward and rip the rat's head off. But a previous order was obviously holding him fast._

 _Drac looked up with a bit of annoyance at being interrupted. "Ah, yes. Business before pleasure." He walked Haru to the farthest corner of the room and laid her down as if handling a sleeping child. "How long will that spell knock her out again?" he asked while running his fingers through her soft brown hair._

If thoughts could kill, Yuki would have happily claimed her first murder, there and then!

" _Hours," Baron choked through his rage and grief._

 _Drac slowly turned around, his smile once again turning malicious. "Glorious," he gloated, daintily removing his tiny white gloves and pocketing them inside his jacket with all the relaxed ease of preparing himself for a round of poker and gin. He even set his top hat on the table and hung his coat on the lone chair to keep them from getting damaged. "Plenty of time, then… for_ _ **this**_ _!"_

 _With a bit of concentration, the rat was able to make claws flex out of the tips of his fingers, doubling their length when he was done._

 _Not even the slow approach of the gloating rat was enough to soften Baron's anger. He glared up at his 'master' defiantly, proudly._

" _Hold still," Drac ordered quietly while raising one arm. "I want to_ _ **enjoy**_ _this."_

The first slash was terrible. So was the second. Renaldo rushed forward to at least cover Yuki's eyes from the third blow, but she had already seen enough to haunt her for years if her uncle's screaming couldn't do the trick.

" _ **NO**_!" Hilary wailed, breaking right through the window in her efforts to break through the barrier. "We were promised this wouldn't happen! **Humbert!** "

"Muta," Sonya choked through her grief. "Get Yuki out of here. She shouldn't see this."

Yuki couldn't believe it was ending like this! It _couldn't_ end like this! Not when Grandpa had promised so bright a future for all of them!

She didn't give up as her protector grabbed her by the arm and began trying to drag her out of the throne room. She fought back with her power, running forward to start stomping on the mirror floor as if she could break through the same as if only glass were separating them. "MOM _! MOM_ _ **!**_ "

xxXxx

A/N; Drac's note contains partially faithful lyrics from his second song from The Great Mouse Detective. This last scene was what I was working on before my father's heart attack and my grandfather's passing.


	37. Someone Like You

A/N; One of my betas pointed out that a warning would be appropriate for this chapter, and I'm disappointed with myself for not catching it earlier. This is probably the goriest chapter I've ever written. Lots of blood. Some gore. You have been warned, but also know that this was one of my favorite chapters to write for this fic. You'll have to find out why for yourself.

 **Chapter Thirty-Seven: Someone Like You**

 _Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not._

 _-Oncler, The Lorax_

 **xxXxx**

 _Harry was quick to scamper up the stairs, securely closing the latch to the attic behind her to muffle out the excited sounds from below. Now alone, her fixed smile fell off her face as easily as a mask. Her suddenly tired brown eyes trailed down to the plastic bag one arm was pressing against her chest._

 _Kicking the random boxes and such aside until reaching the newspaper-stuffed mattress in the far corner of the attic, she opened the window just enough to give her light, but not enough to let anyone think she was up there._

 _Not that anyone ever asked where she was unless work needed to be done._

 _Sitting on the worn blankets, she dismally reached into the bag and started pulling out the contents._

 _Plaid again._ _ **Why**_ _did she have to tell Sir that she hated plaid? But still, clothes were clothes, and it wasn't like she had anyone to dress up for._

 _Or anything._

" _No socks," she grumbled under her breath, the bag now empty of three ugly shirts and two questionable pairs of jeans. A receipt fell from the bag, but she already knew they were from the cheap second-hand store three streets down._

 _Harry thought wistfully of the beautiful clothing she had been wrapping an hour earlier. There was even a silk dress fit for the prom coming up!_

 _Her heart began to ache as her vision blurred with barely restrained tears, making her fiercely rub her face with the plaid sleeve of the shirt she was already wearing._

" _Come on, Harry," she whispered savagely to herself. "You_ _ **know**_ _it won't get done unless you do it now."_

 _One of the two days of the year that she was guaranteed to be left alone. The tired teenager knew she should work on homework first, but the jeers from the other students were getting worse._

 _She got up and retrieved the three pairs of socks that had been hanging up close to the window and grabbed a plaid shirt that had holes cut out of it. With a dull pair of child's scissors, she snipped a few more parts of it off and retrieved the needle and lone spool of thread she was allowed to have._

 _Although painfully obvious and uncomfortable, patched socks were better than no socks. Or shirts. Or pants._

 _Underwear. Really, would it kill him to give her something new, just once? Her earnings from one job alone could pay for a nice, second hand store outfit that didn't make her look like a boy. For crying out loud, the only reason she had shoes was because_ _ **she**_ _wore them out first, and the hand-me-down boots from_ _ **him**_ _were enough to keep her feet somewhat dry during the winter months. As long as she stuffed them with rags first._

 _Then a delicious smell began to waft through the floor boards, making her stomach roar like a lion._

" _They ordered pizza again," she sobbed, putting down the sewing to squeeze herself tight by the midriff._

 _It didn't fool her body in the slightest. She buried her face into her 'new' clothes, since they provided more cushioning than her pillow, and just let herself cry._

 _Her tongue yearned to find out what pizza tasted like. It had to be amazing, if he ordered it every time_ _ **her**_ _friends came over._

 _She was starting to forget what the word 'dinner' meant. If it weren't for the fainting spell two months ago at school, she'd have forgotten what 'food' meant._

" _Once... once upon a time," she gasped into the rough material her face was buried against. "There was a lonely girl that no one cared about. No one saw her, no one heard her. Kept as a slave, she was beaten, used, and thrown to the side when she had nothing left to give."_

 _A familiar bark reached her ears, as well as the fun laughter of teenage girls._

" _Even the dog was treated better than her," Harry numbly added, gripping the pile of clothes the way she would have held onto her favorite toy._

 _If she had ever been allowed one, that is._

" _But what no one knew, was that there was a prince in disguise roaming the land, searching for a pure-hearted maiden to be his bride. He had already met plenty of girls more than eager to be a princess but had found each and every one of them to be lacking a beautiful heart. By chance, he found the slave girl one day, and saw something in her that no one had before." A tiny smile tried to show but didn't quite manage it. "The slave girl didn't really have much to offer anyone except the ability to work and undying devotion, all for the taking in exchange for a scrap of kindness that she was starting to lose hope would ever come."_

 _She gripped the clothes even tighter, hoping that this birthday wish would come true, even without a candle from a cake that was never hers. "Making up his mind then and there, he bought the slave girl from her undeserving master, placed the girl on his gleaming white horse, and rode off into the sunset, never looking back or regretting choosing a plain but humble girl over a bratty, selfish, spoiled, manipulative monst-"_

' _ **MOM**_ _! Wake up NOW!'_

A sudden blast of pain to her head cut off the increasingly heated monologue. She let out a low hiss but managed to keep quiet other than that.

Sir hated her voice so much, he'd always double the beating if she dared to cry out when he was 'disciplining' her.

Harry's head continued to pound and throb as she opened her eyes to see a room made of stone. Her eyes turned duller, not bothering to question what she was suddenly doing here instead of in her attic.

Though she was curious about why her mouth tasted like she had resorted to eating her own socks before even bothering to wash them.

There was the familiar thud and gush of a mutilation, making her flinch instinctively. But then she realized that it was still only her head that ached.

Harry blinked and turned her head enough to see a standard rat monster, if a little bigger than usual and dressed nicely instead of naked, slashing at someone or something that she couldn't see from over here. Her eyes widened in horror as a slow gasp escaped her control.

It was worse than the usual nightmare. She didn't think anything could be worse than being attacked by a giant rat or an army of them, night after night if she dared to close her eyes when it wasn't snakes.

But this time, there was a connection around her unseen shield. She could feel it flinch and ripple with every blow the rat gave to whatever was lying at its feet. The connection was a deep one, although she admittedly didn't have anything to compare it to. No one from her town had been interested in developing such a personal bond with her. Even the children and pets she watched only lightly brushed at her second hunger sense, teasing her with only little tastes of a feast she was forever denied attendance. Yet, whatever was at the other end of this bond had given much more than that. Her second hunger sense was only fasting, not famished.

Her hands unsteadily groped for the walls of the corner she had been lying in, and her legs shakily rose her up until she was standing, though her head was still pounding with the worst headache of her life.

It was a cat. Or, the remains of a cat that had been wearing a black cloak that was now slashed and soaked in the poor thing's blood. But that wasn't stopping the rat from making as many wounds as possible, and she could see a disgusting smile of satisfaction from the side of his face for the gruesome display. The poor cat was only able to make a groan every now and again as his life's essence continued to leak out of him and onto the surrounding stones making up the floor.

"… _Stop it,_ " she whispered hoarsely.

Surprisingly, the rat did stop in mid-swing. He stayed still for only a second before slowly turning to stare at her with a wide gaping mouth, as if he had never seen a human before. "… You're _awake?_ " he gasped in surprise before glaring down at the cat he had been mutilating. "You said she'd be out for hours!" he accused, giving the poor cat a swift kick that produced a sound like breaking bone.

The next whimper was a tired cry. That cat literally had no breath to express his pain with anymore.

"S-stop it," Harry stammered, although her legs were shaking so badly that she was forced to brace herself against the corner.

The giant rat sighed and walked away from his prey to approach her instead. His ridiculously long claws retracted back into his hands, making them look surprisingly tiny when compared to the rest of him. He spoke surprisingly gentle to her, using a handkerchief to clean the blood off his hands. "Please don't bother yourself with him. He is of no consequence to you or to me."

Harry's eyes widened as she felt his spirit desperately claw at her shield, making her instinctively tighten her hold on it.

This was definitely a worse dream than normal if a killer rat _wanted_ a connection with her!

She took in a deep breath, forcing her head to crane back when he came right in front of her with an attempt at a charming smile that exposed too many of his sharp teeth. "L-leave… him…"

Drat it, why was talking so **hard**! That cat needed her help, and she was freezing up again!

"Alone?" he finished, actually laughing as he took her by the chin with an almost affectionate gesture. "I'm afraid I can't do that, dear. He was getting between us, you see, and that is the one thing I can't abide."

Harry's eyes widened in horror. He wanted _that_ personal of a connection with her?!

" _ **Eewww**_!" she screamed before gagging at the mere thought of having this creature as a boyfriend. She wanted a knight in shining armor, not a rat soaked in shining blood!

This was one of the reasons she didn't have any friends. If she didn't have time to formulate her speech, what popped out of her mouth usually sounded like a small child's honesty, which was sometimes too brutal for self-absorbed jerks to take.

That attempt at a smile immediately fell away to be replaced with an animalistic fury. In one swift movement, he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the stone wall she had been using to brace herself.

' _I am stone, I am rock,'_ Harry immediately began chanting in her head as her body automatically adjusted to getting strangled again. _'Gargoyles have no lungs, so why would I need to breathe? I am stone, I am rock.'_

"You take that back!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, leaning his face close to her to maintain eye contact. "Like it or not, _I_ am your destiny, and I will not have you talk to me like that!"

Harry could feel her senses fade in and out despite her internal mantra. She struggled to think, but her thoughts were racing by almost too quick for her to recognize what they meant.

This rat wanted her. It wanted that poor cat dead. If something wasn't done, this nightmare was going to turn far worse than just getting beaten into blood and bone pudding again.

Once a coherent action filtered through her mind, she grabbed it.

And the rat's throat.

The thick sinews of his neck were hard and impossible for her slim hand to try to damage, but they guided her fingers to the soft, tender flesh between them. She sank her digits in as deep as they could go before taking a firm grip on his windpipe.

He choked in surprise, stumbling backward and taking her for the ride since he was still choking her at the same time. He tried desperately to hold her at arm's length to break her hold, but Harry's special rat and snake mantra was rising to the front of her mind as tears escaped her control.

' _My hand is stone, my hand is rock. I couldn't let go if I tried.'_ More tears rolled down her face as she closed her eyes to spare herself the sight of that disgusting rat struggling to breathe. It was heart-wrenching to feel his windpipe struggle and bulge against her grasp, much the way her more scaly victims did in their last moments.

Though she was grateful that this time, nothing was wrapping itself around her arm or scratching her wrists as she performed her most hated chore. She tightened her hold yet again, refusing to let go even if it killed her.

In a last-ditch attempt to get her off, the rat hurled her across the room as hard as he could.

Harry's lungs desperately gasped for air before she realized she was flying, or that she was hitting the ground. For whatever reason, part of the floor was covered with a strange sheet of metal, and her cheek found just the edge of it to leaving a stinging pain in its wake.

After landing on the stone floor, she rolled from the impact until hitting the other wall, making her fight against the groan that wanted to escape her control. Her head felt worse than ever, dealing with both the monster headache and fighting a dizzy spell from the lack of oxygen.

' _Just what I need. A sore body to match my sore head.'_

Knowing better than anyone could that the next attack could come at any moment, she again used the wall she was against to rise to her feet as her lungs continued to gasp painfully.

But the rat wasn't making another run for her. Instead, it was clutching at his neck, which was rapidly staining his pink and purple tie and grey vest with a dark, sticky red that wouldn't stop gushing like a fountain.

With a sinking feeling, Harry realized that her hand was covered in a warm, sticky substance. And it was still gripping something like she intended to hold it forever. She looked down, and immediately dropped the throat. She gagged in horror and disgust, since she normally went out of her way to make her kills swift and painless. But this was the first time she'd ever tried her hand at something bigger than herself.

The rat slowly lost the ability to struggle, unable to breathe or to stop the blood flow that was even more gruesome than his feline victim. He soon fell to the stone floor, trying to choke but only gushing out blood from his mouth, nose, and hollow neck.

Wiping her damp hand on the unfamiliar material covering her legs, Harry took in a deep breath to address the rat for the last time.

"I've been killing your kind since I was **eight**. But this one's on the house." _'Sir isn't going to find out about this one, that's for sure.'_

That last look he gave her was a mangled mixture of disbelief, anger, and… heartbreak? Maybe disappointment.

The little light that had been present in his eyes disappeared, and Harry could literally feel the energy leave his body until all that was left was a husk.

But before she knew what to do, part of that spiritual essence swiftly redirected itself to her, piercing her core without warning. She stumbled backward in surprise, and patted her chest to try to find it, but it had already taken root deep within her soul.

' _Oh well. Now's not the time to worry about me.'_ Turning to look around the table, she used her mental cloak to check on the cat.

Alive, but not for long. Between the loss of blood and the broken rib piercing one lung, there was literally nothing that could save him, even if she knew how or who to call.

Although she didn't know the first thing about him, the still-shaking teenager couldn't fight back the tears that he would soon follow the rat's path.

Harry stiffly walked closer to him, using the table to brace herself as she passed, and knelt next to the poor cat so that it wouldn't be a strain on him to look at her with those startlingly beautiful green eyes.

Her strangely long hair briefly cut off her line of vision as she stiffly forced her body to lay down next to his, but she couldn't be bothered about why her nightmare self was allowed to look like a girl. "That was for you. It isn't much," she apologized in a soft guilty whisper. "But he won't be hurting anyone else now."

A thick wave of his gratitude hit her senses like a tsunami, warmer and happier than she could have thought he'd feel at this moment, with or without the heavy tinge of pain. Even the way he was looking at her was strange. It was so full of adoration, even though they both knew she had been too late to save his life.

"… Let… lick… cheek," he managed to choke before a fresh wave of blood gushed from his throat.

Harry couldn't help but feel touched at his humble request. As someone who took care of small children and seemed to still think like a small child herself, she understood what he was trying to say.

Not even the blood pooling between them was enough to make her hesitate, not for a last request. She inched closer and offered him the cheek that wasn't stinging like crazy thanks to the tears flowing over the cut.

"Oth… er…" came the fading whisper.

Harry blinked in confusion, but obediently turned her head to a painful angle to give him access to the cheek that was bleeding a little. The little prayer she had been giving was denied as the tall ginger deliberately licked the cut she had gained, making her flinch a little.

Oh, so that's what he was up to. But shouldn't doctoring her wound be on the bottom of his priorities? He was literally dying in front of-

His body gave a violent spasm, making her swiftly rise to her knees with a cry. But that cry became a gasp at the miracle that was occurring right in front of her eyes.

The long gashes left by the giant rat were closing themselves right before her eyes! His clothing was gashed enough so that she could literally see the muscle and furry hide close in on itself without so much as a seam or a scar to hint that he had ever been touched. There was another crack as if another rib was breaking, but she couldn't help feeling certain that it was a sound of a rib returning to one piece. It reminded her of the one time she had watched a movie go in the reverse before teacher knew how to work the VCR, and a large mess had sprung up to clean itself and leave no trace of the chaos that had happened.

Within seconds, the cat was still lying in a puddle of his own blood, and his black clothing was still ripped and tattered, but the cream and orange-colored fur underneath looked as perfect and untouched as a work of art. Even his energy was returning to him faster than she could fill a jug with water.

She had to admit that it was a thrilling thing to sense, like a pleasant tickle along one side of her conscience.

The cat sat up with relief, briefly checking his limbs before springing to his feet. "I… I feel _incredible_!" he exclaimed, twirling once in place with a freedom that made him seem reborn. "I think a good decade's been shaved off me!"

Harry could only stare in shock. She wanted to think, but somehow, watching him seemingly heal after nothing had happened had silenced her inner voice as well as her physical one.

The ginger stepped out of the puddle of his own blood, wincing a bit at the sight and his own blood-smeared footprints on the ground before turning to look at her with nothing but devotion in his eyes. " _Thank you_. For a moment there, I thought both of us were done for."

Harry couldn't help noticing that although his eyes and manner were alight with renewed energy and life, his expression was blank and indifferent. "What's wrong with your face?" she asked without thinking that it might be impolite.

The light in his eyes seemed to burn even brighter. "The rat you killed had me under an obedience spell, and he hated my happiness with a passion."

Harry looked over her shoulder once, although she already knew that her blow had been a fatal one. "He's dead, you don't have to obey him anymore," she pointed out, surprised that he hadn't noticed that yet.

A second change overcame him, almost more breathtaking than the miraculous healing he had gone through.

That feline mouth wasted no time splitting into a wide grin that nearly gave off sparks, and he leaned down to grab her by the waist and swing her in the air, never minding her yelp of surprise.

Her hands automatically fell onto his shoulders to keep herself steady, as if they had done so a hundred times before. Was this what dancing felt like?

"You beautiful, amazing _miracle_!" he laughed, only bringing her down again to wrap her into his arms.

Harry's eyes widened in shock, even as her body relaxed of its own accord at his touch. She had never been spoken to like this, or held like this before, but…

Had she? This felt so familiar.

It felt like coming home.

There was no stopping herself. Since her hands were still on his shoulders, her arms wrapped around his neck and held on tight, her face burying itself into the soaked and tattered remains of his shirt as well as the exposed chest fur. She had to stand on the very tips of her toes to do it thanks to their height difference, but she didn't mind.

"How **do** you always know just the right thing to say?!" the cat demanded while taking an affectionate lick against her hair.

Harry couldn't think of something to say to that. For now, she was content with soaking in the cat's love and adoration greedily while offering her own in return.

He accepted it just as greedily, they could both feel that.

That is what decided things for her. As vivid as her imagination could sometimes get, this left all her previous ideas on what being held and accepted felt like in the dust.

"…You're _real_ ," she whispered against the soft white chest fur, even though it was impossible. "This wasn't another nightmare."

"That's right, my friend," he assured her, getting in a second lick to her hair before spitting in disgust. "My apologies. My blood is all over you." Waving one hand nonchalantly, a pure white handkerchief appeared so that he could relax his hold just enough press it against the wound on her cheek. "Are there any other injuries?" he asked worriedly.

Harry looked down at their feet, only now wondering why she was wearing a long brown dress that was partially dripping in cat and rat blood instead of second-hand plaid and jeans. "My head hurts," she admitted, feeling strangely safe with telling him she was in pain. "My everything hurts, but my head hurts worst."

He flinched in guilt. "Ah, yes. It would. My apologies about that, but-" he stopped himself short in order to shake his head furiously.

Once the strange cat's head was clear, he tried again. "Here's the much-abbreviated version of what's going on; we are thirty years ahead from the time you know. I am a cat from another dimension that the rat behind you enslaved to help win your favor, but then I found out he was lying about your better qualities and we became very close. He was jealous that you liked me better than him, so he forced me to erase enough of your mind so that you would be more pliable to his demands." He held both of her hands against his chest with one hand, since the other was keeping pressure on the cut on her cheek. "I hope you will believe me when I say that I fought as much as I could not to do it, and I am very sorry about hurting you. I never would have done such a thing to anyone of my own volition."

Harry stared blankly, using her old mental game of guessing what a word means based on the sentence to figure out what 'volition' meant. 'Free will'? "… Thirty years?" she whispered, not sure if she could believe this strange cat.

Her instincts said he was the first trustworthy person she'd ever met, but _thirty years_?

He nodded and told her the date. "Happy forty-sixth birthday." Then he blinked before looking at her sternly and releasing her hands. "Now that I think of it, how _did_ you wake up so quickly? Not that I'm proud of it, but the trauma I invoked on your mind should have left you comatose for a bare minimum of five hours. How on any dimension did you wake up so soon?"

Harry held her hands to the sides of her head, trying to remember. "… There... was a scream. A little girl was crying for her mother to wake up. It hit me like a thunder bolt." Then she froze and frantically looked around the stone room that felt like a prison. "Is there a little girl trapped in this place, wherever we are? We should find her, and her mother! They might be in trouble!"

Not wasting a second, she ran for the big heavy door just beyond the cat.

It was like something out of a castle, since the mere weight of the door felt as heavy as an entire table, but Harry had never been afraid of working up a sweat for a small child that needed her. She heaved stubbornly on the metal ring that served for a handle.

Just when she had gotten the door two inches, the cat's black-gloved hand came down on the wood over her head, easing the door shut again. Harry looked over at him in surprise, which turned to confusion when she saw the way he was gaping at her.

"That little girl is completely safe, my friend. You made her leave the castle three days ago on my strong advice so that the rat couldn't use her against you or me." The cat slowly began shaking his head in amazement. "One of these days, I'm going to stop underestimating the bond you share with your daughter."

Harry's mouth dropped open like a drawbridge.

The cat gave her a very gentle smile before leaning over slightly to nuzzle her hair again. "Thirty years is a long time. You didn't think you were still going to be alone, did you?"

"… _Daughter?_ " she whispered, almost unable to believe it. She'd always wanted to be a mother, but deep down, she had never been all that certain that the time would come.

A daughter. A little girl of her very own.

What was she like?

Was she pretty?

Was she kind?

Did she share Harry's deep love for stories?

A goofy smile overtook her face at the one question she didn't have to ask.

Did Harry's years of abuse turn her into an abusive parent herself? They couldn't have, if her little girl was _that_ afraid of losing her. But how did she make herself heard without drawing the rat's attention? Did her little girl have… magic?

Her heart skipped wildly at the thought. Did she ever show off her gifts to her mother? What else could she do?

A sudden chill gripped her heart. Who had she married to produce a magical child? And what had happened to her husband in order for this mess to happen? Did that rat murder him to clear a path for himself?

What had _he_ been like? Had it been a good marriage? Had she still been mourning him when all this happened?

A gentle touch at her elbow reminded her that she wasn't alone. She flinched in guilt, but the gentle smile was still on her feline friend's face said loud and clear that he wasn't angry with her for accidentally ignoring him.

Instead, he offered her a proper gentleman's bow. "May I have the pleasure of reintroducing you to your pride and joy?" he asked with the upmost courtesy.

" _Yes, please_ ," Harry nearly swooned as tears of happiness stung her cut cheek again, but now she didn't care.

She had a _**daughter**_! A real family of her very own!

The orange and cream cat offered her his arm, and only her books and the rare movie from history class informed her of how to place her hand on it. "I want it understood that you are free to visit the Human World any time you wish," he informed her while briefly nuzzling her brow again. "I am not your keeper, I am your friend. No matter what happens from here, I won't allow anything to change that. You are far too important to me."

Such sweet words. Harry had only _dreamed_ they'd one day be directed at her! She carefully restrained herself from a pinch test, because if all this **was** only a dream, she had no interest of rejoining the real world. Instead, she tightened her grip on the cat's arm, almost feeling like she could die of happiness right then and there.

He gazed at her fondly before looking back at the corpse, coldly smug before addressing it. "The reason it's a partnership when the male is the head of the family, is because the female is the heart of it. Each is incomplete without the other. Pity you never realized that."

"Huh?" Harry couldn't help asking as his free arm sharply slashed through the empty air to make a distant shatter ring through both the air and her senses.

He gave her a smile that was effortlessly charming when compared to the rat's. "Just getting in the last word in one of the many disagreements we had with him. Shall we?" he asked as he slashed the air again to make a large blue circle of light appear before them right in front of where the table was.

Harry jumped in surprise, but now she was beside herself with excitement to see the kind of child she had raised. "We shall," she answered with a large silly smile on her face.

She couldn't help noticing how right it felt, walking by this cat's side as they stepped as one through the blue light.

ooOoo

 _The large screen went blank a few seconds after the blue portal faded into nothing, signaling the end of the movie._

 _Despite the extremely exclusive viewing, the modest crowd stull burst into a thunderous applause, screaming their approval that there had been a happy ending, after all._

" _Is that really where you're going to end the movie?" Superman asked Batman while polishing off his popcorn, turning in his cushy seat enough to look at the row behind him. "Before she falls head over heels for Yuki all over again?"_

" _There's not much choice. Drac didn't manage to outfit Baron's home dimension with stealth cameras." A tiny smile showed up on the side of his mouth. "This is the unedited version, of course. I'm going to make it look like true love's kiss is what restored Baron's health for the public version of the movie."_

" _True love's lick?" the Flash countered with a grin when he was done sipping his soda. "Just edit out the blood and his asking for the other cheek, and it'll be fine."_

" _That is the plan," Bruce confirmed, since he was halfway through editing the official version of the movie on his own. He smiled as he thought about how right Haru had been; without the best outtakes, the movie was barely passable. Haru's thorough thrashing of the director was absolutely going into the final cut, as well as the kiss that had made the sweet star realize that she_ _ **could**_ _fall in love, after all._

 _All of her true fans would be willing to pay triple just to see her not use a stunt double for that part! Not to mention it would be a fitting final slap in the face to that rat for the whole world to see how badly his schemes had backfired._

 _Mera was tapping the armrest between her and her daughter nervously. "How did Baron find out about her blood, again? Haru knows…_ _ **knew**_ _enough not to tell him anything that important when he was under the rat's power."_

" _He told me it was a lucky guess," Batman supplied, his own hands resting empty of refreshment for the moment. He secretly_ _ **hated**_ _eating in what he considered his work clothes. "Drac had experimented with her hair to look like that when he wanted her blood, so he knew something was different about her. Baron told me that it was all he could think of at that moment, he had literally nothing left to lose, and knew a last kiss was too much to hope for when she was reduced to a child again. An even younger one, that is," he admitted sadly. 'A child like that should never have been that used to killing, dream sequence or no.'_

" _Were her affairs in order?" Green Lantern asked, standing up from his chair to stretch his legs gratefully._

" _Yes," Batman sighed, still lost in his own thoughts. "She had everything in place shortly after adopting Yuki. If something happened to only Haru, her daughter would inherit everything. If both of them were to be lost to this world's understanding, the Refuge and its contents would be owned jointly by Dick and Tim. Her money would be spread through certain charities, and I could have whatever trinkets of hers that I want. But I already know for a fact that Baron and his cohorts have already gone through her home and taken most of the worthwhile things with them to her new home."_

 _Arthur Jr, now a teenager, fidgeted in his seat before nervously asking, "Aunt Haru_ _ **is**_ _happy there, isn't she?"_

 _Batman managed a smile at the little glimpses he had been allowed since Baron had informed him of Drac's demise. "Happier than she could have once imagined. She's not the same Haru we knew, but she is the same treasure she always was. Baron makes sure that she and Yuki visit us every now and again so that the boys and I don't worry about them. Haru finds the visits a little awkward without the bulk of her memories, but she'll be all right. Baron will see to that."_

" _I can't_ _ **wait**_ _to show her relatives that even without James, she's stronger than all of them put together!" Aquaman sighed mournfully although he knew he should have been thrilled at such a glowing report for one he loved as a sister. "Well. Then I guess there's just one problem left."_

 _Mera smiled up at him while tightening her arm around their own Haru, who was just budding on the edge of becoming a teenager herself. "And what is that, your majesty?"_

 _Nightwing stared up at the black screen and answered in a dead voice for one and all. "How much we're going to miss her."_

xxXxx

A/N: If I were mean, or even lazy, this would be the last chapter. But since the main story wasn't about the struggle with Drac, there's more!

And yes, I stole the last exchange from Disney's The Little Mermaid. I've been plotting to do it almost since the beginning.


	38. Never

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Never**

 _We never left._

 _-Lily Evans Potter, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'_

 **xxXxx**

' _Yuki, Hilary. I'm taking Haru directly home so that Timothy can look at her. Meet us there, she is_ _ **anything**_ _but ready to meet the court right now.'_

' _Probably the best move,'_ Yuki agreed in a heartbeat, grinning more widely than she had thought she was ever going to again five minutes ago.

Despite her training, she hopped off the fancy chair and raced into her aunt's arms as the cheers and applause continued to ring through the throne room.

Hilary was laughing with delight and relief as she held the kitten tightly against her. "Even _Harry Jones_ was too much for that rat to handle! Serves him right for making her forget about him, too!"

Yuki rubbed her face against her aunt's middle, partially out of affection and partially to disguise her tears of relief.

Half-losing her mother was infinitely better than full-losing her mother. Especially if it meant losing to that disgusting **thing**!

Then Yuki froze as she suddenly realized one of the reasons her mom must have stared at her so much when they had met on that cold Christmas morning. "Mom doesn't know about the Cat Formula this time. I'll just be another cat to her. What if she doesn't like me?"

"What if I'm pregnant?" Lune asked with annoyance.

The felines within earshot all turned silent, staring at him as Yuki and Hilary did the same.

The crown prince admittedly was sometimes a bit scatter-brained, but even _he_ knew better than to ask a question like that!

Lune crossed his arms while giving Yuki an equally cross look. "My apologies, I thought we were asking impossibilities. Yuki, in case you missed that detail, your mum is already half in love with you, just by finding out you exist, _and_ she was willing to rush to your aid when she didn't know you were hers. Just go to the von Gikkingen estate and make sure she finishes the job. You did say that you were the reason she started believing in love at first sight, and I doubt that the Cat Formula was the only reason it happened. Go, and tell me how it went after she's settled in. Lady Haru will need you for the next while more than we will."

Yuki stared in amazement, feeling something warm grow in her chest at his sweet words. Without thinking, she released her aunt's waist in order to walk up to her future husband. The white kitten levitated herself just enough to lick one of his cheeks, making him start in surprise.

" _Thank you_ ," she whispered, giving him a bright smile and a big hug around the neck before setting herself back on the ground and running for her aunt.

Hilary had her mouth hanging open even after Yuki grabbed her hand and Renaldo's before dragging them to the closest window.

After they disappeared through the glass, the crown prince slowly raised one gloved hand to his cheek in wonder as his father laughed uproariously.

" **That's** my boy! You just won yourself a princess with that speech!" he gushed proudly, clapping his hand on his son's right shoulder in congratulations.

Lune closed his eyes in agony. "The _one time_ I wasn't worried about it!"

His mother laughed warmly while patting his other shoulder. "That's usually how it works, dear."

ooOoo

Harry did her best to sit still in the comfortable chair as the old family doctor lowered his hands from her temples with a frown.

"As I thought. She needs to go back to sleep immediately to lesson the damage to her brain as much as possible." Timothy withdrew a tiny vial from his bag and uncorked it. He then offered it to Harry, who could only look at the orange cat a little worriedly.

"You were very fond of that potion," he assured her soothingly while rubbing one of her hands in comfort. "It assures an immediate and dreamless sleep for several hours."

Her heart skipped hopefully in her chest. "No nightmares?" she nearly begged in a tiny voice.

"No nightmares," Timothy assured her, trying to ease the glass vial into one of her hands. "Please, my lady. For your own health-"

A large mirror that had been standing close by in the foyer she had been taken to suddenly filled with a bright light, making Harry look over in surprise while hurriedly standing up.

Even though she was privately surprised that she could still be surprised by anything at this point.

Three cats nearly ran through the mirror. At least, Harry could recognize that there were three people, but in all honesty, her eyes were filled with the first one that came through.

She had to be the most _beautiful_ cat that Harry would ever lay eyes on, with perfect snowy fur and sapphire eyes that seemed to stare into her soul without any trouble or revulsion. Her old-fashioned pink dress suited her to the core, and she held herself like a lady, even as her gorgeous eyes seemed to plead with the human girl.

The only thing more stunning than the cat-child herself was the bond between them. Harry had sensed the strong bond between herself and the orange cat but compared to the one she shared with the kitten, the orange cat's was simply a good, solid rope.

The bond between her and her daughter, however, was like several layers of chain mail linked together here and there to ensure that they could never really be separated. Their bond was fluid, but unbreakable.

It was probably a good thing that Harry's numb hand hadn't grasped the vial that Timothy had been trying to give her, because before she understood what she was doing, both of her arms were outstretched to **her daughter** as a stunned " _Beautiful_ ," escaped her lips. Even her legs were moving forward without being told to do so.

That perfect kitten nearly wept with relief, flinging herself into Harry's arms and gripping her tight. As Harry closed her into a perfect embrace, she could feel one more link get forged firmly into place.

 **This** was home! **This** was where she had been born to be! She nuzzled that soft white fur happily for a good long minute before evidence reminded her of the state she was in.

"I-I'm covered in blood," Harry blurted, trying to let go of the kitten to spare both her fur and her beautiful dress further stains.

Her sweet child only gripped her tighter while managing a near hysterical laugh. "Like I _ever_ cared!" she declared proudly, proving herself to be the voice that had woken Harry up. "I've been rooting for you to kill that creep since you first told me about him!"

Harry blinked, not sure that she really liked having this precious angel speak like this. She forced herself to loosen the girl's hold enough to kneel in front of her and get a good look at what she was now certain had been the center of her existence.

She had been suspecting almost at his first word that the orange cat had plans to sweep her off her feet, but to be blunt, this little girl beat him to it.

But now that Harry was looking closer at her, she realized that hugging techniques weren't the only things her daughter and her new friend had in common. There was a bit about the shape of their eyes, their ecstatic smiles when they looked at her.

Her still-pounding head turned a little numb at the first explanation it could think of.

"What did I do to have you? Marry _him?_ " she asked in a panic, pointing at the orange feline, who was also still covered in blood. _'Was he trying to ease into telling me he's my husband? Was that rat trying to steal his wife when we even have a child?'_

For some reason, her blood ran deathly cold at the thought.

His green eyes widened in complete surprise as they connected with hers. But his shock didn't prevent him from answering the question with a beaming smile that was almost bigger than his face.

"Not yet, though I do accept your proposal."

Harry froze up, realizing too late that she shouldn't have asked in front of so many witnesses, _all_ of which were grinning almost identically at her words if they weren't busy cheering joyfully.

She had been trying hard to forget that she wasn't able to conveniently count all the servants that had been waiting to welcome them to her friend's home, but if this wasn't the full staff, it was definitely enough to make sure that everyone within ten miles heard what had popped out of her mouth before the sun went down.

"Gah, what?! I didn't mean it like that!" she tried to backtrack as her cheeks flamed, but then her daughter covered her mouth with one hand.

"You don't want to fight this," she insisted as her bright eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Mph moph?" Harry tried to ask, but it was hard to be understood with that hand in the way.

"You really don't," her daughter assured her with a wide grin, understanding the question without a problem.

The orange tabby gave a silencing motion with one hand to quiet things down again. "That may not have been what you meant to say, but that is how I'm taking it. We can discuss it when both of us are in a better state," her friend promised, still beaming happily as he took the vial from Timothy and walked close enough to present it to her. "I promise we'll explain all when you wake up, but please. It's for your own health."

Harry looked down at her daughter, who was still beaming and nodding excitedly as she rubbed her mother's hand against her own cheek in complete contentment.

"I'll still be here, Mom. You _won't_ wake up in that attic, or any attic, ever again."

Her heart melted with love all over again. She removed her child's hand from her mouth so that she could press a kiss to that soft, snowy fur, and so that she could take the strange medicine.

She wasn't even sure if she had finished swallowing before everything faded to black, and a large hand gently braced her from behind.

ooOoo

Before Harry even opened her eyes, she knew she wasn't in the attic. The mattress beneath her was too soft and comfortable to be stuffed with newspapers, and the blankets that were up to her chin were too thick and warm to be her secondhand sleeping bag, also stuffed with old newspapers just to hold anything resembling heat. There was also a bandage on her cheek, keeping some salve in place over the cut from her fight.

Also, there was someone nestled next to her. Two of them, to be honest.

Her large brown eyes opened to see that beautiful kitten that had so quickly become the owner of her heart, sleeping peacefully with one of her mother's arms flung over her shoulders for an extra bit of comfort. A glance downward surprised her, since it showed a basset hound nestled between their stomachs in a perfect nest, also sleeping in perfect contentment.

' _So I have a dog of my own. I wonder how long it took to get them to like each other,'_ Harry thought as she recognized the natural perfume of flowers hanging in the air.

She sat up in the large bed she had been tucked into, staring around the beautiful room as her breath caught in her throat in complete appreciation.

It was even bigger than the main floor of the house she had grown up cleaning and looked like something out of a fairy tale. Or at least a period movie from one or two centuries ago.

The cream-colored canopy was nearly sheer enough to see through, and the whole room was just barely light enough to see more than a rainbow's worth of flowers stacked everywhere, each one vying for her attention. Her nose twitched as she smelled something to her right that definitely wasn't flora.

She looked over enough to see a fruit bowl piled high with mostly unrecognizable offerings, sitting on a matching platter that had an artful arrangement of triangles that were carefully covered with cream-colored handkerchiefs.

Feeling curious, Harry reached over enough to grab one of the triangles and unfold the handkerchief to reveal half a sandwich cut in an artistic diagonal. A small smile lit up her face since there wasn't even the tiniest hint of peanut butter, which had been the majority of her allowed diet for years. A bite revealed it to be some sort of fish sandwich, but she didn't bother wondering about what kind of fish it was. She was too busy inhaling the food with a heart that felt lighter than air.

Harry had been able to force herself to occasionally have dreams about getting to have a square meal of everything nobody thought she was worthy of, but actually tasting the delicious flavors and feeling the sandwich settle in her stomach reassured her that she was indeed too far away for the old man to ever force her back to him.

If he would even bother. Some days, she really didn't know if he'd take the time without her earnings from helping a neighbor.

The silver teapot smelled like its contents were still warm, but the teenager forced herself to turn away enough to guiltily nudge **her daughter's** shoulder.

Her precious kitten mumbled something as she stretched her back and rubbed her eyes open. "H-Hi, Mom," she yawned. "Are you feeling better now?"

Harry had intended to say, "Much better!" but for some reason, her mouth disobediently reported, "My headache's almost gone, and I'm a little stiff. But I'm much better than before," she quickly added as the little hound also began stretching and yawning. "I'm sorry about this, Sweetheart, but… would you mind explaining bathroom business for this world to me?" _'Last time I asked a child this, I was tricking her into potty-training!'_

Her sweet angel blinked, but then nodded while hopping out of her side of the bed. "Can you walk, or do you need help?"

Harry stiffly managed to throw the blankets off and rise to her feet.

Her daughter wasted no time attaching herself at the waist and wrapping her mother's arm around her tiny shoulders. "Silly question. I was going to help you no matter what."

Harry melted again, but not before noticing the silky white nightgown someone had put on her. Even that was finer than anything she had worn before, though it wasn't hard to outclass plaid in her opinion. "Who dressed me?"

"Julia. Don't worry, she's cleaned you up after a bad fight before," the white-furred kitten said with an off-hand manner that chilled her mother's blood. "The bathroom's right over here, and no, Toby! You stay on the bed, we'll be right back."

The little dog whined his complaint but nestled back into his spot on the bed with a pout.

Harry had to say, this was just one more reason why she knew she was going to love living here. Instead of forcing herself to cope with the touch of water against her bare skin when it came time to wash up, she instead got to really rub her hands against a thick fluffy towel that had been specially enchanted to remove everything that resembled… uncleanliness.

"You better lay down again," her daughter pushed after her business was concluded, not bothering with subtlety with making sure her mother was back on the bed in record time.

Toby woofed in appreciation, not waiting until the covers were back over Harry before jumping into her lap so he could lick her face.

Harry laughed as she rubbed his long ears with both hands. "Aren't you just the friendliest little thing? Yes, you are!"

His tail wagged happily at the praise, and the rest of him nearly melted at her experienced touch, making her sweet child giggle adorably.

Harry had always had a special gift for pets and small children. There had definitely been more than one time where she had wished that everyone older than ten would just disappear from her cold little town but coming here was infinitely better! She looked up at the little girl that had finished crawling back underneath the blankets to snuggle with her again. "I'm sorry if I sound cold about asking this, but what is your name?"

"Yuki," she answered, wiggling around Harry's arm and wrapping her own around the older girl's waist. "It means 'snow' in Japanese."

Harry would have scratched her head in confusion if her hands hadn't been full of dog and daughter. "I wonder why I picked that name," she muttered under her breath. "I don't know that much about Japan." _'Though I'll admit I never really thought about what I'd name my children. I was just thinking about a big cluster of them.'_

Yuki bit back a small laugh. "Oh, you didn't name me. My birth mother did."

"… _Oh_ ," Harry breathed, a whole selection of her questions all answered with that one statement.

Yuki looked up at her with her large blue eyes pleadingly. "You don't mind, right? That you didn't give birth to me yourself?"

"Of course not," Harry assured her, the words tumbling out before she had a chance to collect her thoughts. "I mean, it'd be hypocritical of me to hate adoption when I've been wishing someone would adopt me since I was younger than you."

Yuki brightened. "That happened, you know. You got adopted too, by someone that absolutely adored you."

"… _Really_?" Harry asked, almost unwilling to believe it.

Her sweet child nodded again, untangling herself from her mother's embrace before reaching for the side table on her side of the bed. "His name was James Seamus Ratigan. He was your first real friend." She grabbed a set of frames that were hinged together and carefully crawled across the bed again to lovingly present it to her mother. "You always regretted the fact that he was long gone before you adopted me. You said he and I would have been besties."

Harry let her drag Toby back to her own lap so that she could lay the frames down for a good look.

The frame on the far right had her in a beautiful blue dress and wrapped in a man's arms as if they were dancing. She looked happy, and completely comfortable in the bigger man's arms.

The man was gazing at her with more adoration than she had believed yesterday… what she _thought_ was yesterday, than she could have ever been receiving. His eyes were warm, and his smile was gentle as he held her close in a silent 'dibs' moment.

If she hadn't been told that this man was her real father, she would have assumed he was a boyfriend from the way he was forever captured in this photo.

Then Harry blinked, noticing his unique physical structure and large smile. "Why does he look like the rat I killed?"

Yuki took in a deep breath and put one hand on her mother's shoulder. "Don't start beating yourself up about this Mom, because Drac the Rat's been bothering you for almost the solid thirty years he forced you to forget about, and if you had known he was going to go this far to have you, you would have killed him much sooner, I promise."

Harry cocked an eyebrow as her heart seemed to fall into her stomach. With a preface like that, she knew she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Drac is James' natural son."

Harry's mouth fell open. That thing had been her adoptive _brother?!_ That flat out informed her he _**wanted**_ her?!

Yuki kept explaining, rubbing her mother's arm to keep her calm. "If he had been a better person, I'd have bothered calling him an uncle, but he was too obsessed with trying to force you into a marriage, and you've always said he was too much like the old man for you to have been happy with him. Don't blame yourself. Even Grandpa suspected you would kill Drac if he didn't back off, and he was on your side of the argument."

"Why was that guy a giant rat if his father wasn't?" she blurted out, still staring at that picture.

There were little touches here and there to make it easy to believe that the man had rat blood, but he had _nothing_ on the monster Harry accidentally killed.

Yuki turned devilishly smug. "He did it to himself. He took a potion with some of your hair that was supposed to turn him into the same thing you are so that you would accept him, but he turned into _that_ instead. Uncle Humbert says that it proves that Drac had an ancestor that came from the Rat Dimension and decided to stay in the human one. That's how he got the magic to put Uncle Humbert under his power, and how Grandpa knew you were going to meet all of us someday."

Harry shuddered at the idea of being married to someone identical to Sir. That… just… wasn't worth it!

The only thing that had been keeping her alive and out of traffic for years was the hope that she was someday going to be with someone that could make her feel like a lady.

Someone like…

"Who was that cat I saved?" Harry asked, feeling silly and embarrassed that she had a man completely wrapped around her finger, and she didn't even know his name.

That was something _Vicky_ would do without batting an eyelash.

Yuki beamed happily. "His full name is Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. You call him 'Baron', and I call him 'Uncle Humbert' because he's a second cousin of my birth mother." She laughed a little ruefully. "My parents eloped to the Human World because Mother wanted Father instead of Uncle Humbert." She then tugged at the neck of her own nightgown to pull an amulet off her neck.

The beautiful kitten became a stunning human girl, but she still had the same eyes as when she was a cat.

"This is how you knew me. Do you like it?" Yuki asked worriedly while tugging at a lock of her shoulder-length white hair with one hand and rubbing Toby's belly with the other.

Harry could only smile as she reached over enough to gently cup her daughter's cheek. "You're beautiful no matter what. But I think being a cat suits you better."

Yuki beamed happily at the news and set the amulet on the little table on her side of the bed. "That's good, because we'll both need to be cats to live here. I've been holding off on the ritual to permanently change my appearance because I wanted to do it with you. I don't know what to expect, but I think it will be less scary if we do it together."

Harry couldn't fight the feeling that this was very standard procedure for the two of them. She leaned back down on the mountain of pillows and tugged slightly to encourage her daughter to cuddle up to her again. "So, I was raising you on my own until Baron found us?"

Yuki nodded while nestling deep into her mother's embrace. "You did a really good job, too. I've learned more than one thing from you that's going to help me in whatever the future has in store for us."

That doubled Harry's relief. She didn't bother asking questions about how she was able to feed and clothe this sweet lady; just from the little time she had been reintroduced, she knew that she'd do anything to provide for her precious little girl. She chewed her lip, suspecting another answer that was going to prove to be embarrassing, but curiosity was gnawing at her attention span.

"Um, Yuki?" she asked timidly. "I know it's not nice to jump to conclusions, but... was there... something...before… I-I mean-"

Her beautiful daughter lit up like a Christmas tree. "If you and Uncle Humbert were more than friends before today? Are you attracted already?"

Harry tried desperately not to let her face turn red again. But unfortunately, that was a body function she had no control of whatsoever. "M-Maybe I can ask later-"

Yuki's laugh cut her off. "Well, you two kissed."

"We _did_?" Harry asked while blushing harder still.

"Uh huh. _And_ you told me that it was the first time you actually enjoyed it," she pressed, loving every second of her mother's reaction. "But since the other guys that kissed you were creeps, it wasn't really a shock to me."

" _Others_?" Harry asked feeling sick as she thought of Vicky. "Don't tell me I turned into a flirt!"

That made her little girl laugh while shaking her head. "Oh, you didn't. It's just that jerks like Drac force one on you, and you… um, maybe that part can wait until later," Yuki changed course halfway through her sentence with a nervous smile. "But Uncle Humbert _did_ receive fair warning that you don't appreciate men just forcing a kiss on you, and the way he did it was so spontaneous and sweet that all you could do about it was admit that you were in trouble."

Harry raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He's _that_ good of a kisser?"

Her daughter grinned impishly at her. " _You_ sure thought so. Don't worry, Mom; you were plenty impressed with him long before it happened. You can take it from me that you won't regret that accidental proposal."

"It wasn't a proposal!" Harry tried to protest, but she could already see the body language that she was being ignored over this.

"Of course it wasn't," Yuki assured her with another grin. "He'll give you a proper one when he knows you're ready for it. But I'm still holding you to that promise that I won't stay an only child if things work out with him."

This was it. If her time in her hometown wasn't enough to prove that it was impossible to die from embarrassment, this moment was. Harry buried her face against one of the large pillows in complete mortification.

Yuki let her have a minute, humming softly enough to make Toby fall back asleep. "… You don't hate Christmas anymore, you know."

Harry took in some cleansing breaths before peaking at her child around the pillow. "Because I get to spend them with someone who actually cares about me?"

That made her feel a lot better. Between her daughter and the Baron, she wasn't likely to have a lonely birthday or Christmas for the rest of her life!

"Well, that's the second reason," the child admitted while wiggling her way back into her mother's arm. "The other is that we met on Christmas six years ago. It was my first happy memory. Mom, would you like to see it?"

Harry blinked. "How? Was someone pointing a camera at us?"

"Not at the time, no." Her sweet daughter took in a deep breath for courage. "I'm sorry for never mentioning it before, but I have magic. Uncle Humbert's been teaching me how to use it, and one of the spells he made sure to teach me was how to retrieve memories. We won't be reliving them, it'll be more of a… tv show we get to watch while feeling like we're in the show."

Harry quirked her eyebrow again, but her heart was jumping in excitement. _'I'm going to see_ _ **magic**_ _!'_ "Please show me."

Yuki grinned happily and replied, "Your wish is my command," before uttering something under her breath that her mother couldn't catch and performing a twisting motion with one hand as if turning back the hands of a clock.

The room filled with a white mist at her words, making all the beautiful flowers fade into nothing before the room seemed to be filled with snow that was still falling.

Harry wasn't sure what she was expecting to see, but it certainly wasn't the shrill voice that cut through the air like a whip.

" _It's not too late, Yuki; just retrace your steps back to Machida's! I know he's not the best, but he's a better bet than out here!"_

Yuki gasped in complete shock as Harry stared unbelievingly.

It wasn't hard to recognize a thinner and shabbier dressed Yuki as she miserably walked down a sidewalk and occasionally knock the falling snow from her shoulders and filthy hat with ear flaps. But as much as Harry loved her little girl, it was hard to overlook the two half-translucent shapes that ghosted around her like affectionate balloons.

The one that had begged for her to return was a striped tomcat with large blue eyes, and he was shaking his clasped hands in front of the tiny girl, all of his pleas falling on deaf ears at the child miserably kept walking, only hiding behind a random bush when a snow plow came barreling down the road.

The other shape needed no introduction. Harry was dead certain that this was how her sweet daughter was going to look like when she got older. Her snowy white fur was glossy, and her face would have been the epitome of beauty if it weren't ravaged by grief.

" _Why won't someone help my daughter?!"_ she screamed at the top of her lungs as the little girl resumed her walk as soon as the snow plow was out of sight. _"She's just a child! Isn't there a single human in this wretched world that can give Yuki what she deserves?!"_

Her husband was also weeping dry tears, since they lacked the bodies for wet ones. _"We never should have left our dimension. We didn't do anything illegal, and Humbert might have forgiven us if we had just_ _ **said**_ _what we wanted instead of running off and getting killed!"_

" _Being outcasts would be bearable compared to this! It's worse than torture!"_ his wife agreed, never taking her eyes off the miserable little girl as she continued her lonely walk. _"Yuki's a good girl, I_ _ **know**_ _it, but none of the humans are willing to understand her needs!"_

Past Yuki lifted her head in alarm at the sound of another large car heading down the road and ducked into an opening for a park.

" _No, not there!"_ the father nearly screamed in horror as he tried to stand in his daughter's way to block her off, but she only walked through him without a twitch of an eyelash. _"Parks are hunting grounds for child-thieves! Go back to the road!"_

Of course, Past Yuki could neither see or hear his advice. Instead, she walked deeper into the park, only stopping in surprise when she caught the smell of something odd in the air.

" _Please,_ _ **please**_ _let no one else be here,"_ the mother prayed through her dry tears, still following after her child worriedly when the tiny girl began following the trail of the scent like a bloodhound.

Harry finally let herself notice that the scenery was coming to them instead of making her and Current Yuki climb out of bed in order to follow, and she was grateful for that. Not knowing what else to do for now, she simply kept a tight grip on her most precious treasure and her gaze on the two grief-stricken cat ghosts.

After a while, another voice could be heard, making the cat ghosts look at each other in horror.

" _Look, my sweet, I_ _ **know**_ _how hard all this is on you, but you can't give up yet! Didn't I promise you a future worth the wait?"_

Both of the cat ghosts had almost British-sounding accents, but this one was definitely British. It was deep like a growl, but warm like a purr. Harry had no idea why, but that voice alone made her relax and give her daughter a bit more breathing room in her arms.

She didn't recognize herself at first. She could see the ghost of her true father kneeling in the snow, but she thought he was doing it in front of a stone statue sitting on a park bench, practicing a heartfelt speech before attempting a confrontation for real.

" _ **Please**_ _, my sweet. Just go back to the hotel room. You've been out here for hours, and I don't want you to hear me badly enough to want you to die for it. What if someone attacks you again while you're not paying attention to anything?"_

' _Again?'_ Then Harry noticed that there was steamy breath coming from the statue's mouth. She felt Yuki make a strange gesture with one hand since they were still wrapped in each other's arms, turning the scenery around so that they were also facing the bench.

Harry never thought that she would be dressed so nicely under the layer of fallen snow that had helped make her look like a statue. The long blue coat that reached to her knees looked like it was brand new and actually intended for a girl, and the boots were actually her size without a single scuff on them. Her hair was about shoulder-length to make it even more obvious that she was no longer getting forced into looking like a boy. She would have looked like a million bucks if it weren't for the look on her face.

That look came very close to matching how she really felt about growing up under Sir's thumb. So much pain, anger, and a sense of hopelessness until the air around her seemed to scream on her behalf.

But this was about twenty-five years after that time. How long did it take Harry to escape after turning sixteen? Did she have a bad marriage in that time? Was she widowed?

So many questions that she barely had the time to think of right now.

As Past Yuki struggled through the underbrush, still sniffing the air in confusion, Harry's true father broke off his plea, turning to look at her with a gasp.

The ghost parents were nearly on their daughter's heels as they followed her into the small clearing, echoing the first ghost's gasp in shock.

" _You!"_ the cat mother was able to say first before sharply turning to look at Past Harry.

" _And Haru!"_

Harry's blood froze in her veins as a gasp of her own escaped her throat.

That name! It was just… not real! No, she just misheard! Who would really call her something that strange? Haru wasn't a real name!

" _Louise!"_ James wept with relief before turning his gaze to the tiny child looking up at Past _Harry_ with confusion mingled with fear. _"And Yuki! It's about_ _ **time**_ _!"_ Now changing his direction, James placed his insubstantial yet tiny hands on Past _Harry's_ cheeks and started desperately trying to turn her head. _"Look, Haru! It's Yuki, your future's finally here!"_

There it was again! Why was that name showing up in her future? Her past? What was she even supposed to think of the event, or her circumstances?!

The ghost father may not have been addressed, but he was also beaming happily as he started trying to nudge his daughter's back towards… the completely still woman. _"Go up to Haru, Sweetheart. If anyone in this world will give you a chance, it's her!"_

That name was getting mentioned again, almost smugly rubbing itself in Harry's face as her heart froze in fear. But she still tightened her grip on the girl in her arms, silently proving the birth father right as his wife joined in on trying to talk their baby into talking to the complete stranger.

But was she? James knew that woman on sight, and she had known Harry, even if it was by **that name**.

Harry just didn't think that someone like 'Louise' would have been just a casual acquaintance if they had met before, but if they had, wouldn't she have already known and offered to take care of Yuki?

Speaking of Yuki, her past self was raising one trembling hand and daring to take a step closer to her future mom.

" _Do it,"_ James demanded with glee.

" _Do it,"_ Louise also demanded, almost ready to jump out of her skin with excitement.

If she had skin, that is.

" _Do it,"_ her husband, as yet unnamed, pleaded just before that tiny mitten came to rest on a snow-covered knee.

The strange young woman sat up as if she had been electrocuted, a gasp escaping her throat before her gaze turned to the filthy orphan at her side. Her large brown eyes became larger with shock, even a bit of wonder as she stared at nothing else.

Harry could understand that feeling all too well. She had lived through it again what felt like only minutes before. All three of the ghosts in attendance were completely silent for now, waiting for a verdict they already seemed to know.

"… _You are the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen,"_ Past… Haru? Harry? whispered as if in complete awe at the being in front of her.

Harry wouldn't have blamed herself if that version of her had thought that Yuki was a snow child, with that pale skin and shamefully worn clothes that had no right to be on a little girl as beautiful as her precious angel.

"Snow angel," she corrected herself under her breath, watching herself become embarrassed at having the truth so easily fall from her lips as well as the fact that she was covered in snow. She swatted it off self-consciously as the three ghosts almost danced around them with joy.

Past Yuki looked worried at her reaction and began stepping away nervously. But why?

" _No!"_ all three of the ghosts tried to scream, but Past… whoever she was, had also raised a hand to stop her, but the words that fell from her mouth were unlike anything Harry had ever heard before.

Past Yuki did stop, though she was keeping her eyes on the taller woman with worry written all over her tiny features.

Past… who was she, really? In any case, the ghosts were on their last nerve as her past self tried for a while to say something but settled for kneeling in the snow that was a good six inches thick and holding her arms out to the little girl.

For once, Harry could see that she wasn't masking her loneliness. Using her eyes to say what her voice currently couldn't, she told that little girl how very much she wanted a hug.

Hesitantly, much like the nervous kitten she was, Past Yuki inched her way closer into those arms until they were locked around her like a fly trap.

The change was immediate. A wide smile of relief flowed over both their faces as they clung to each other happily. Past… just how was she supposed to think of herself with **that name** still hanging in the air?!

" _She's going to be fine!"_ Louise wept, putting her own arms around the two living girls with complete joy. _"I_ _ **knew**_ _I loved Haru!"_

If Harry had changed her name since getting away from Sir, why on earth would she have chosen **that one**?! There were so many better names! Ones that didn't have nightmares attached to them!

" _From the moment she stepped on screen,"_ her husband confirmed, also wrapping his arms around the two girls as James wrapped his large arms around the other two ghosts as well as the living.

" _Just you wait and see,"_ her true father gloated happily. _"Once my Haru lets herself get attached to someone, she forgets how to let go."_

Now that Harry had people to get attached to, she didn't have it in her to deny that. He did his best to rub his face against her past self's hair but couldn't manage it since she kept rubbing her face and pressing kisses to Past Yuki's filthy hat. Soft, gentle words full of so much gratitude filled her lips. While Harry couldn't understand them, it wasn't that hard to see that she considered Past Yuki to be every bit of the miracle her first parents thought of… Haru.

What had they heard or seen to be this relieved to see her take in their child? What was that earlier about a screen? That sounded like she had been on tv, but what for?

After a while, Past Haru forced herself to pull away, unintentionally making the ghosts release them since it was confusing to be partially through someone when you're trying to look at them. There was enough space between the two girls for Past Haru to ask Past Yuki a question tinged with concern.

Past Yuki wasted no time pointing her little finger directly at hope shining brightly in her sapphire eyes.

Louise looked like she had been punched in the gut from the question, making Harry conclude that she had been asking where Past Yuki's mother was.

" _Oh, Louise,"_ her husband whispered sympathetically as Past Haru looked stunned at the child's response.

" _I-It's all right, Neil!"_ Louise declared a little too loudly to be genuine, her hand coming up to wipe away tears that weren't there only because she didn't have a body anymore. _"If anyone was going to take that title from me, I'm glad it's Haru. She'll do whatever it takes for our daughter."_

" _That's right,"_ James assured her in a heartbeat, his eyes still locked on the two girls but mostly on Past Haru. _"Nobody that wants to keep living will dare to mess with Yuki with my Haru around. I spent the last part of my life preparing her for this meeting. She_ _ **will not**_ _botch this up, you have my word."_

What was _that_ supposed to mean?

Past Haru couldn't ignore the hope in Past Yuki's eyes. Harry could recognize the fear, the almost unreasonable amount of love in her face for this half-frozen child standing in front of her. With a stubborn tilt in her jaw, she asked another question that made both Louise and Neil flinch as James attempted to pat them on the shoulders with sympathy.

" _She'd have asked that differently if she knew you were here,"_ James consoled them as Past Yuki shook her head and marched right back into the arms she loved.

Her reaction seemed to make up Past Haru's mind, somehow more solid than a rock. Gathering the child up in her arms, she explained something in a warm tone as she stood up and started walking down the sidewalk her bench had been sitting next to.

Harry couldn't help picking out the word 'Haru' in all that gibberish. An introduction? And the poor child in her arms was still too afraid to do more than hold onto the older woman's neck and deeply inhale the air close to it.

Her scent.

Harry had always known that she smelled horrible, but the child was taking her scent in like it was even better than cookies just out of the oven.

Vicky may have been too lazy to study for regular school, but she might as well have had a P.H.D. in how to make her younger twin suffer. She'd even rinse the cookie pans when she was done so that Harry couldn't scrape up any crumbs when she was forced to clean up after the messy cook.

James was nearly skipping with glee as he walked next to his adoptive daughter. _"Now all that's left is for Baron to find them! Oh, I can hardly_ _ **wait**_ _!"_

That made Harry blink in surprise. _'He knows Baron, too? How?'_

Louise looked over at him from the other side of Past Haru as she gently informed Past Yuki of something or other. _"Then he will find them?"_

James was smirking in a way that almost looked like his rat son's, but without making the action look evil or sketchy. _"Without a doubt. And when he does, he'll never know what hit him."_

For some reason, that made Current Yuki start laughing in a choked sob.

That comment also made both of Yuki's ghost parents sigh with relief.

" _That's just fine,"_ Neil exclaimed as he walked next to his wife, the snow-covered grass not hindering him in the slightest. _"Louise and I didn't leave him on the best of terms, and he'll need someone very loyal to erase how we hurt him."_

James seemed unconcerned by the revelation. _"That's my Haru. Just you wait and see. By the time she's done healing him, he'll be so happy he won't recognize himself!"_

"You said it, Grandpa," Current Yuki muttered under her breath, but Harry was still silent as she tried to process both everything she had seen and everything that had been implied.

It was going to take a lot of getting used to. Having people that respected and loved her so much, that just seeing her made them think that everything was going to be just fine.

Louise jumped slightly as a thought came to her. _"James, was it?"_

The largest ghost nodded, turning enough to look at her curiously.

" _You would know better than anyone._ _ **Is**_ _Haru a mermaid?"_

Harry barely had time to drop her jaw in surprise as the ghost of her true father laughed long and hard.

" _You'd think that theory would stop being funny by now! No, I can give you my absolute guarantee that she is_ _ **not**_ _a mermaid."_

' _What a stupid question,'_ Harry thought furiously. _'Who could possibly mistake_ _ **me**_ _of all people for a mermaid?!'_

" _She's their cousin,"_ James added almost as an afterthought, still skipping with his good mood, even though his tiny feet left no marks on the snow beneath him.

Harry's mind turned numb as her arms fell limply from her daughter, making the three ghosts disappear from view as the young woman hurriedly carried the child out of the park. She couldn't tell if the spell was still active, because all her eyes could see were ocean waves, coming up higher and higher as they chilled her to the bone.

But she wasn't fast enough. She hadn't been allowed enough exercise to be fast enough, not back then. She could even feel the salty water bubble and choke down her throat and into her lungs as the one who had meant more to her than her own life disappeared forever.

Almost of their own accord, Harry moved the blankets enough to pace blindly around the room, for once not caring if she accidentally bumped something over in her unthinking stupor. She ran her hands over her mouth, her temples, and even her longer hair as she struggled to explain to herself why her adoptive father was wrong.

But it would all make sense if that hadn't been just a nightmare, after all. Why the old man hated her and did everything in his power to make sure her twin hated her, too. Why he never lost an opportunity to remind her that _she_ was the reason his princess was growing up without a mother, as if Harry hadn't needed her far more than Vicky. He had even carefully 'trained' her to never call him 'Dad'. He was simply 'he' when she had to talk about him to someone else, and 'Sir' if she just couldn't avoid speaking in his presence. Harry could never remember actually doing anything bad enough to earn such hatred. If she had been six, then her mother's death pretty much _had_ to be an accident, even if she were responsible.

Harry had suspected for years that the only reason he never kicked her out or slipped something deadly into her daily peanut butter sandwich was because it would have prompted an investigation by the police. This was _definitely_ something he wouldn't want to become general knowledge. People went out of their way to avoid him if they could manage it, since the man could and would start an argument over even tiny things like what day of the week it was.

Even when he was wrong, he would still act like whoever disagreed with him was an idiot.

 **He** had been the reason Harry would sneak fairy tales on lunch breaks instead of checking out a book, like the old librarian loved to remind her she was more than allowed to do. Harry had always assumed that the reason the old man didn't want her to read them was because of the hope it fed her enough to keep going.

Abused, unwanted people that never quit trying or hoping were rewarded with a long happy life, and cruel selfish people were rewarded with short unhappy ones, mostly thanks to their own choices. It was probably the most common thread that wove almost all the tales into one.

But she remembered one fairy tale, from when she was fourteen. There hadn't really been a happy ending for anyone in that one, at least happiness that actually got discussed. It had taken her almost a week to read through it, even though it was only three pages, a larger font than most of the books, and even had illustrations over half of each page. No matter how many times she tried to force herself not to even touch that collection of fairy tales again, it seemed to be the only thing she hadn't read yet whenever she went looking for something else. **Anything** else.

Harry had blamed her nightmares on those illustrations as well as her overactive imagination. She could see every detail so clearly, it was like she was reliving how the worst day of her life might have happened.

If it had actually happened… if her true father had known what he was talking about…

That had been the worst part of that fairy tale. She had never needed to ask if there were really humans that would do something so… heartlessly monstrous. Not after growing up in fear of the old man.

Her blood became colder still at how well her unvoiced theory connected with plain and simple facts.

"MOM!" Yuki suddenly screamed, yanking on one of Harry's hands enough to break her steady concentration.

Harry yelped with surprise, falling backward and landing on her behind. Thankfully, the blue carpet was a lot more cushy than the hardwood floors she was used to being thrown on.

Also thankfully, she had managed to miss her little girl on the way down.

"Oh, peanut butter, I'm sorry," Yuki immediately apologized, kneeling next to Harry to hurriedly start patting around her arms and back as the little dog also hopped down to whimper worriedly. "Did I hurt you? Is anything broken? Should I call Timothy?"

Harry responded by wrapping an arm around her daughter's waist and dragging her onto her lap. Almost of its own volition, her other hand rose up to start playing with that beautiful snow-white hair as she continued to think. Enough of her mind was still present to notice with delight that Yuki was nearly melting at the gentle gesture.

Under ordinary circumstances, she could play the denial game. She could pretend that the nagging nightmare that had never really left her was only that, and better left forgotten in favor of the ones with giant rats and snakes that would eat her alive for killing so many of their kind.

But this was _anything_ but ordinary circumstances.

"Yuki," Harry forced herself to say slowly as her other hand came down to rub at the hound's long soft ears.

"Yes, Mom?" her daughter asked, still alert through the loving affection.

It was the hardest thing the poor teenager had ever forced herself to ask. "… C-Can… you… do… that memory spell… for me?"

Yuki turned enough on her lap to give her a steely look of determination. "I'm pretty sure I can figure it out. But I don't know if it will work on the thirty years that rat lost for you."

"We can experiment with that later." Harry closed her eyes and spat it out before she could take it back. "I want you to show me my sixth birthday. If you can."

" _Oh_ ," Yuki said with sad understanding. "You want to see how Grandma died?"

Harry took in a deep breath, fearing the absolute worst. "I want to know… _if_ she died."


	39. Heart Open

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Heart Open**

 _I don't know what's out there beyond those hills, but if you ride yonder, heart open, I think one day you'll find that you're the hero you've been looking for._

 _-Wiley Burp, 'An American Tale; Fieval Goes West'_

 **xxXxx**

Harry was breathing heavily when her daughter forced her to sit back on the bed and slid in beside her. The sweet child even took the time to throw the good thick blankets back over them before she repeated her spell, twirling on finger around as if turning back the hand of a clock. The little basset hound seemed to be used to having magic worked around him, because he was already curling up at their feet to go back to sleep.

The older girl held onto her tightly as the sick pit in her stomach grew steadily worse. The room around them faded out of sight once more, only to reveal something very literally from her worst nightmares.

At first glance, the inside of the small cabin seemed picturesque and charming. The walls and ceiling were made from a wood the color of honey, and there were only the most basic forms of furniture close to the fireplace and to the attached kitchen. The fireplace had been swept clean recently, and one could just hear the roar of the ocean through the windowpanes.

Harry held on to her child just a shade tighter as she looked at the woman tiredly setting a platter of breakfast in front of Sir, who despite being ten years younger than her most recent memories, only had a little less white hair and wrinkles around his mouth from too much frowning.

Those frown lines smoothed as he looked at the food in front of him, everything perfectly set in its own place and not even a hint of porridge dribble on the side of his bowl.

Seeing food on the side of his bowl, even the inside part of the bowl, would always infuriate him. He had obviously trained her mother perfectly by now.

Harry's heart broke as she really studied her mother's face. She was a beauty, there was no denying that, but she looked so tired, and her large brown eyes seemed dead in the morning light as she expertly scraped up the scrambled eggs for her daughters and herself.

If anything, Harry was surprised that despite her mother's fatigue, she didn't look a day over sixteen. Which was near impossible with a pair of twins that were celebrating their sixth birthday today. There was almost something severe about her haircut, hacked off at just below her earlobes. It was the same red-brown she was used to seeing on her sister, though Vicky would religiously put her hair in rollers every night to make her hair bouncy in the morning.

Harry remembered ruefully that the old man had never approved of long hair on anybody. He could barely even force himself to let Vicky grow her hair out slightly past her shoulders, and he'd do _anything_ for his 'precious princess'.

Speaking of which, the brat was sitting on a chair nearly touching the old man's, and she was leaning into his side happily until he started eating, at which point she sat up straight to await her own breakfast. There wasn't any cruelty in her large brown eyes yet, but she certainly seemed oblivious to anything that wasn't her father or her food.

Harry's younger self was standing on a chair with butter knife in one hand and her other poised to grab the toast as soon as the toaster spat it out.

Harry blinked in surprise as she stared at her younger self. Usually when she had this nightmare, she was seeing it through her younger eyes. But since she was only observing from the outside this time, she had the rare opportunity to see herself in these tender years, since most of the photos that had her this young were either 'lost in the move' to the town she had grown up in, or 'accidentally ripped' so that only the part with the old man and Vicky was still salvageable.

"Oh, Mom! You were _adorable_!" Yuki breathed with delight while hugging her around the neck.

"… I _was_ ," Harry was forced to admit, although she was now more confused than ever. Her younger self still looked like her wardrobe was picked from a secondhand store, but at least it was obvious that she was a little girl, with hair hacked off the same as her mother as she helped make breakfast.

If it weren't for the fact that Vickie was allowed to wear her hair longer and had a particularly cute frilly dress on, she and Haru would have looked identical other than their hair colors. Logically, there was no real reason for the old man to have adored the older twin and despise the younger one.

Unless this kept following her dream exactly.

"You don't have to be so surprised, Mom," Yuki scolded her as her mother carefully transferred the eggs to a ceramic bowl because the old man thought it was classless to have a pan on the dinner table.

He wasn't the one that washed the dishes, so he never saw a problem with creating more work for someone else.

Harry kept watching her past self as she finished arranging the toast on the plate in a similar manner to the covered sandwiches waiting at her right. "I can when all the memories I have are people telling me… never mind." _'She doesn't need to know what I hear every day.'_

Yuki almost severely tightened her grip as a snarl worked through her throat. "You will **never** be spoken to like that again."

Despite the horror that was going to unfold before her, Harry couldn't help melting at the loving words, making her press a kiss to her daughter's snow-like hair. _'So I already told her. At least she can't force me to recite such hateful words later.'_

But they continued to watch the scene before them.

It wasn't hard to miss the implications of the old man and Vicky sitting close on one side of the small table, and Past Harry sitting as far as she could from the two of them after setting the plate of toast on the wood surface, her mother only joining her after she finished spooning a generous amount of eggs onto Vicky's plate. Even after she sat down, she made sure that Past Harry had enough before making due with the remains of the eggs and toast.

If Harry wasn't all too familiar with how the old man monitored every scrap of food in the house, she would have wondered why her mother didn't just make another egg or two for herself.

Because he had been served first, it only stood to reason that the old bane of her existence was finished eating first. He then looked with adoring eyes at Vicky, who was just about inhaling her eggs in her eagerness to be finished.

As soon as the last bite of egg-sodden toast was in her mouth, the well-dressed little girl looked up at her father hopefully as her jaw furiously chewed.

The old man laughed like she was just the most perfect thing he would ever lay eyes on. _"Yes, my little princess. We can go now."_ He turned his stern gaze on their mother, who flinched back from his attention. _"Start the cake at noon sharp; we'll be back before you're done icing it. In the meantime, the toilet next to our room needs some attention, and I thought I saw some weeds out in the garden."_

" _Yes, Blake,"_ her mother recited without much heart put into it. Her brown eyes seemed so… glassy. She could hear and understand what was going on around her, but she was beyond caring anymore.

" _Don't forget to pull the weeds at a northwesterly direction this time. You really think I can't tell you pulled them west two days ago?"_ The old man's eyes only turned soft again when they looked at little Vicky, who was already out of her seat and bouncing with excitement.

" _Daddy! Hurry up so we can go!"_

' _Even at_ _ **that**_ _age, she's bossy,'_ Harry couldn't resist scowling at the memory of her twin, secretly glad that she could do it to her face and not get in trouble.

If one had been looking at the old man alone, it would have been easy to think that the only birthday girl, or even child present, was Vicky. He didn't look at the little girl by the mother's side or show the slightest bit of guilt over leaving her behind for whatever birthday surprise he had arranged for his beloved child to get this excited.

What was chilling was the fact that Past Harry wasn't bothered or surprised by his indifference. Leaving only a little food on her plate, she slipped out of her chair as soon as the other two closed the door behind them and did her best to quietly run for the large window next to the door.

While her tiny daughter was distracted, her mother finished off both of their breakfasts with some relief.

Past Harry kept herself low and only peeking through a corner.

"What were you looking for?" Yuki asked curiously since they were at the wrong angle on the bed to see out that window.

Harry's response was numb. "For those two to leave so that I could have time with Mom."

After a few more minutes, Past Harry brightened and ran back to the kitchen where her mother was already washing the breakfast dishes.

Harry had washed a fair share of dishes in her time, but even if she hadn't, it wasn't hard to see that her mother was being a little too aggressive about scrubbing a plate that hadn't been all that hard to wipe off.

" _They're gone, Mom!"_ Past Harry cheered while giving her mother a hug around the legs as she tried to work. _"Can we do something fun, too?"_

Her mother gave a tired, staggering sigh that spoke of more than one type of exhaustion before switching to the scrambled egg pan. _"Haru, I… not now."_

That did it. **That** was one of the confirmations Harry had been looking for in this memory.

She was really Haru. _'I wonder what kind of nagging it took for him to fly my real name under the radar for school records since a teacher's never called me by that name.'_

" _I'll even help with the weeds again so that it will take less time," Past_ _ **Haru**_ _promised as she tugged insistently on one of her mother's legs through the plain skirt. "Just show me which direction is northwest again and I'll do a better-"_

" _ **Haru!**_ _"_ her mother snapped angrily while shaking the leg her child was clinging to. _"I am too tired for play. I need the time for a nap since I didn't get much sleep last night."_

" _How come?"_ Past Haru asked curiously.

There was an angry flush on her cheeks as she sharply turned away. _"Nothing you need to worry about. Just… go read a book or something. I'll tell you and your sister an extra long story for bedtime if you do."_

 _Past Haru looked heartbroken. "But it's my birthday, too-"_

" _Will you_ _ **please**_ _be the one unselfish person in this house and leave me alone?!"_ the woman screamed in frustration, scaring the child into jumping back and bumping hard against the breakfast table.

Past Haru rubbed her elbow sorely, backing away from her mother and going near the fireplace. For lack of better options, she turned her tiny back on her mother and sat on the old trunk that was serving for a coffee table. Her tiny shoulders were shaking from repressed tears.

' _Even back then, I could hold myself back,'_ Harry silently noted, stealing a glance at how the older woman was reacting to the broken heart.

Her mother noticed her distress. There _was_ guilt on her features as she finished setting the cleaned dishes in the rack, but it just wasn't enough for the woman to go to her daughter instead of the stairs, almost dragging herself up by the handrail.

"That was **mean**!" Yuki said with complete surprise, keeping her attention on the little girl that was now desperately wrapping her own arms around herself for a hug.

"Dealing with the old man is _exhausting_ ," Harry informed her, still numb as her past self tried to keep her grief under control. "It isn't enough for him for someone to just do what he wants, it has to be done _the way_ he wants as well. I've never noticed any benefits to pulling weeds only in a northwesterly direction or only scrubbing counter-clockwise on toilets. But it gives him one less thing to get worked up about, and some days that's worth the extra effort. Whenever I thought about this nightmare, I've wondered if it was to keep her from spending quality time with me when he wasn't around to give her extra chores that didn't mean anything."

Yuki sniffed in disgust. "I'm glad he's dead. Every time I learn something new about the creep, it makes me want to dig up his grave and dump chicken droppings on him before setting the whole mess on fire."

Despite Harry's pride in her self-control, an evil grin of approval spread over her lips before they were pressed to her daughter's snowy hair again.

Past Haru was now angry as well as hurt. Rubbing her tears away with a blue sleeve, she dove her little hand into a nearby vase and pulled out a tiny red rubber ball.

Harry's heart froze all over again. "I wasn't allowed to play with that inside the house. But I was also almost never permitted to leave the house by myself. It was the only revenge I could think of back then when she wouldn't play with me and the old man was off doing something special with Vicky again."

Past Haru started playing with the ball, bouncing it with what she obviously considered expertise, but it was too clumsy, and she was trying too hard to make it look like all the misses were planned beforehand so that she could do a fancy half-turn to try catching it before rolling under a couch again.

Then it happened. When a particularly angry thought crossed her mind, Past Haru threw the ball harder than she should have and hit just the right angle to ricochet into the fireplace and up the chimney.

It didn't come back down.

Past Haru did the universal flinch of every child that immediately knew they were going to get in trouble if they didn't fix something before an adult walked in and found out what had happened.

As her tiny tennis shoes stepped into the fireplace, both Past Haru and Current Harry shuddered in revulsion.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Yuki asked worriedly.

"I'll explain later," Harry promised, her eyes fixed on that horrible fireplace at the little girl within forced herself to brace against the sooty sides to start slowly climbing.

"Did the ball bounce completely out the chimney?" Yuki guessed as Past Yuki's grunts began to echo slightly. "Did you get stuck?"

Harry shook her head at both questions. "There was a brick that stuck out slightly from the others. The ball got caught between the corner of that brick and the corner of the chimney itself."

As if in proof of her words, a now sooty red ball fell and bounced out of the chimney, leaving black marks on the wood floor and roughly woven rug next to the big couch.

"I felt something when I dislodged the ball," Harry continued as her heart and stomach clenched harder in dread. "That brick was indented slightly, and it felt like it was holding something that didn't belong in a chimney."

"What was it?" Yuki couldn't resist asking as Past Haru began inching down to the fireplace.

"…Watch," was all Harry could force herself to say as the real part of her nightmare began.

Past Haru was a very sooty little girl when she wiggled out of the fireplace and stare at something in her tiny hand with confusion.

Yuki made some gestures to adjust their vision enough to make Past Haru almost stand in front of them, not noticing that everything below her hips was blocked by a denim quilt.

Now that Harry thought about it, this bedroom was _way_ too classy for a denim quilt. Why on earth… no, she could ask questions about the quilt later.

What was in Past Haru's hand was a simple key, blackened with years of soot. The little girl looked at it for a long minute, dividing her attention between the key and the stairs her mother had walked up.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Past Haru squared her tiny, dirty shoulders, took in a deep breath, and began walking to those stairs.

The upstairs wasn't impressive; just a bedroom, bathroom, and roof door to the two girls' bedroom in the attic.

Harry couldn't fight back a smile that her first bedroom had been comfortable mostly because there wasn't room for her side and Vicky's side to make clear at a glance which child was more favored. They had even shared a dresser back then, although Harry… _Haru_ had been promised a good beating if she ever dared to wear her sister's clothes.

Once again, she thought about that beautiful prom dress she had been forced to wrap up for one of Vicky's birthday presents. Had she ever gotten to dress up in something like that in the thirty years she was forced to forget about?

What had she been _doing_ with her life before Yuki found her?! Surely there was more to it than running away from that rat!

The door was slightly ajar, so Past Haru was able to shove it open to reveal that her mother wasn't sleeping, after all.

Instead, the young woman had her face buried deep into a pillow, and her entire body was shaking with a tired weeping.

Past Haru looked guilty about walking in on this, but her curiosity was demanding to be quenched.

Her hand was shaking as it came up and touched her mother's shoulder. "Mom? What does this go to?"

The red-haired woman immediately rose her head, everything in her expression stating that she didn't care right now, please go away.

But then her large brown eyes became wider as she stared at the filthy key in her child's hand. A slow gasp escaped her throat and turned into a mewling cry of pure joy.

Yuki jumped at the strange change of attitude, but her mother only knew it marked the beginning of the end.

Without answering her daughter's question, the young mother snatched that key out of the tiny hand and hopped out of the bed and almost out the door in the same breath.

Past Haru was flabbergasted at how rude her mother was being, but soon ran after the woman. _"Mom? What does it go to?"_

Because Yuki and Harry's vision was now almost the same as Past Haru's, they knew why the little girl stopped on the stairs as soon as she was low enough to see what her mother was up to.

The red-haired woman was kneeling in front of the chest that served as a coffee table. She inserted the key into a lock that Past Haru had never noticed before and turned it enough to make the lid pop slightly. She threw the lid open and dove her hands in to take the contents in both arms.

It was a fur hide. It was a lot browner than in the woman's hair, but one could definitely tell it was from the same color family.

That fur hide was the only thing in the trunk.

" _What's that?"_ Past Haru asked again, being a bit louder than before in case her mother hadn't heard her.

Still without acknowledging her daughter, the woman carried the fur through the front door at a dead run.

" _Mom? Wait for me!"_ the child demanded, running down the stairs and out the same door as fast as she could manage

The little girl was too worried to notice, but Harry could see the sooty handprints and footprints her past self was leaving in her wake. Literally littering the home with proof of what she had done.

There was a downward slope of a hill with trees that her mother was heading toward, already becoming small in the distance.

Not that Past Haru was going to let that stop her. She ran as hard as she could, but her little legs just weren't up for the task.

"It felt a lot faster back then," Harry breathed, secretly glad that since she was reliving this outside her own body, so to speak, she was spared the chaos of her own thoughts as she ran after her mother. But she remembered that chaos just fine.

Why was that key in such a weird place?

What was so special about that fur that it made her mother _that_ happy?

Where was she going?

Past Haru was out of breath by the time she made it past the group of trees, staggering and almost falling over her own feet until resting her hands on two large boulders that stood between her and the ocean.

Not to mention her mother.

Past Haru was still gasping for air, so she had to settle for her brown eyes almost bulging out of their sockets as her mother disdainfully dropped the last of her underwear on top of the pile of clothes she had been wearing that day.

Naked as a newborn babe, the woman lovingly knelt next to the pile of fur lying at her feet and began inserting her legs into what became clearly the tail end.

… Harry was privately impressed with herself for managing to forget about this moment for almost eight years, though this part was the biggest reason she had spent so much energy convincing herself it was only a nightmare, not a repressed memory.

As if to scoff in the face of logic and general physics, her mother's feet seemed to melt into the skin, filling it as she was shoving herself into it. Even stranger, the fur didn't look like it had a pair of human legs in it. It was as round and full of flesh as if it hadn't spent years locked in a chest, and the tail was wagging in pure delight.

Once she was up to her waist in the skin, and looking surprisingly like a mermaid, her mother wrapped the rest of the skin over her back and fitted the head part over her own face. Despite the drastic differences between a human skull and an animal one, there wasn't even a little hint that this was a human playing the strangest form of dress up.

By the time the red-brown fur closed over her chest, the change was complete. Past Haru didn't recognize the creature because the old man loved to tightly control every scrap of information that entered his home, but Harry had read enough after recalling this nightmare to know what was happening.

"A _seal?_ " Yuki asked, sounding confused and just a shade disappointed. " _That's_ the big secret? Or is it a sea lion? I can never tell the two apart."

"Sea lions have longer necks and front flippers," Harry informed her almost automatically while keeping one eye on her past self. "They can navigate on land easier than seals."

That poor little girl was still panting, but her panic doubled as the seal began awkwardly crawling into the rolling waves. Her little legs were just small enough to slip between the two rocks and start running again.

" _Wait, Mom! Where are you going?!"_ Past Haru demanded in fear as the seal got in deep enough for her to move around freely. _"Take me with you!"_

Without waiting for confirmation or denial from the rapidly disappearing seal, that little girl ran headlong into the rolling waves after her beloved mother. It wasn't long at all until a wave completely crashed over her, sending her spinning in the water as she began to choke on the saltwater.

"That's enough," Harry said while closing her eyes. "That's all I need to see. Shut it off."

Yuki immediately cancelled her spell and managed to turn enough inside her mother's arms so that she could wrap her arms around Harry's neck. "She didn't even say 'goodbye', or 'I'm sorry'," she whispered in fury as she gave unashamed attention to her mother.

' _I loved her far more than she loved me,'_ Harry was forced to admit to herself, though… she had wondered for the longest time. Ever since reading that fairy tale book. She held onto her child more tightly and leaned back into their mountain of pillows. "Can we talk about it in the morning?" she pleaded in a whisper. "I might start screaming, and there are probably people still asleep."

It was all so unfair. The part of her life she remembered was all a dark abusive lie, and the part she had been forced to forget about was probably the half she'd have been happier to keep.

Yuki nodded her head against her mother's shoulder, nuzzling her despite being a human for the present.

Sleep wasn't coming to either of them. Yuki only understood her 'grandmother's abandonment, and Harry was furiously wondering why she hadn't been worth a goodbye.

What she had done… it was something that her mother would never be able to repay her for. Why couldn't she have acted like she at least wanted to try? Send someone to take her away from the old man since she clearly couldn't have followed her mother to their ancestral home? Even foster care with the humans would have been better than with that creep!

Harry's heart was still pounding with fury a few minutes later when her large brown eyes looked down at her dear daughter, who looked too angry to have drifted to sleep despite the closed eyes. "Was I ever too tired for _you_?"

" **Never** ," Yuki snarled, tightening her grip on her mother's waist. "We'd cuddle if you didn't have energy to do anything else. Even when you were… not well, you never minded if I just wanted to be next to you. Not even falling asleep could get me angry with you, because you were still there with me. You try," she wept, burying her face in her mother's nightgown. " _Never…_ never stopped trying. Me, a friend, someone you've never met. It never mattered to you. If someone needs you, you stand up. Plain and simple. That's why I want to be like you when I grow up." Suddenly realizing something, that beautiful child opened her eyes and looked straight into Harry's soul.

"That person you used to dream would come to your rescue? **That's** who you became."

Harry gaped in astonishment as her mind unwillingly conjured that glowing knight that knew no fear. "I got _that_ awesome?"

Yuki nodded without hesitation, burying her face in her mother's shoulder again. "We'll tell you more about it in the morning. You won't believe much of it without evidence, but luckily, we've got more than enough of that handy."

Harry had to say it. She knew it was only a matter of time before they discussed it, but now was as good as ever. She took in a deep breath as she gently rubbed her daughter's snowy hair. "I can't promise I'll be the same mom I was before, Sweetheart."

"Do you love me?" Yuki responded with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes," came out of her lips before she bothered to waste time on the thought.

Her little girl beamed happily before deepening their hug. "Then the rest is just details. We can work through those just fine. I'm sorry, Mom, but you're good and stuck with me for the rest of your life whether you like it or not."

Harry melted again before wrapping her arms around her child and holding her tight. "I like it. Very much."

ooOoo

"A selkie?" Baron asked with confusion the next morning over the breakfast table. He had exchanged the black cloak and clothes from the day before for a light grey suit that made him look every inch a true gentleman.

Thankfully, he had been thrilled when the young woman had immediately blurted out that it was a great look for him. Though she couldn't understand why that seemed to make the servants like her even more.

Harry nodded miserably from the other side of the table, keeping Yuki on her lap for comfort. "They're a group of shapeshifters that can only turn into seals, and only then if they have their seal skin. Most of the stories about them involve some human stealing a skin to get a beautiful obedient wife without a lot of effort, and then the wife leaving the minute one of the kids slips up and tells the mom where the skin is hidden. I was that kid."

Hilary was tapping the side of her teacup thoughtfully. "What I don't understand is why didn't the old man burn your mother's skin as well as yours?"

"I was insurance," Harry fought not to snarl as she held her child closer. "If he had burned Mom's skin, she would have had no reason to stay, or he would have been forced to keep her locked up and possibly chained. If she had the hope of returning to her real home, she'd have no choice but to go along with the story that she was a mail order bride until finding the key to that trunk."

She rubbed one cheek against her daughter's soft hair as the child gripped her tightly around the waist for comfort. "He knew she'd leave him and Vicky in a heartbeat, but he thought she'd love me enough to stay if I couldn't go back with her. He always did underestimate how miserable he could make other people." _'All this time, he was punishing me for Mom not loving me enough to put up with him anymore. This explains way more than it should.'_

"Oh, _Haru_ ," the female feline nearly whispered, getting out of her chair to wrap her arms around the selkie girl. "I'm so sorry. I think I liked it better when I thought your mom just got tired of dealing with the old man and…"

"Me too," Harry admitted, rubbing her face against a green sleeve as her daughter continued to grip her by the waist. "I felt closer to her when I thought she died to get away from him."

Baron slowly shook his head in wonder. "When you told me your ultimate specialty is releasing unjust prisoners, you weren't exaggerating. Did any of those stories talk about a bond with selkies and the Northern Lights?"

Harry looked up in confusion. "No. The closest thing I can think of is that seals can live in most climates but seem to specialize in the Arctic and Antarctic. They have no trouble surviving in low temperatures… oh," Harry trailed off as she sheepishly remembered all the times she led her tormentors on an icy chase that would end badly if they didn't give up and go home.

Even the old man had been disappointed that she could survive winter nights in that attic without even a case of frostbite. She had more stability on ice in just plain shoes than most people had with ice skates.

She looked down at the lovely blue dress Julia had dressed her in that morning, taking special note on how little fat was on her. "I guess blubber isn't a requirement for selkies," she giggled a little nervously.

"What about their blood?" Hilary asked while releasing her hold on Harry and gently nudging a plate of something delicious-smelling and unfamiliar closer to encourage her to eat.

Harry shrugged dismissively. "I read that children of selkies are drawn to the sea, and it isn't hard to guess that only full-blood selkies have the skin at birth. That would explain why the old man hated me so much," she muttered under her breath as her cheeks flushed with anger.

All those years of treating her like she had no right to be born… and it had been Vicky. _Vicky_ should never have been born. There were so many entitled brats in the world that one not being born would have changed next to nothing.

"What happened to Vicky?" she suddenly asked her daughter, who turned just a little smug.

"She killed three wealthy husbands for their money and is serving a lifelong sentence in an all-women jail, on strict solitary confinement. The old man died of throat cancer, so he spent the last months of his life with a tube down his throat so that he couldn't give orders."

Harry knew that according to her own idea of fairytale logic, she should forgive them. Forgive all the times they made up an excuse as to why she didn't deserve food that day. How it was so expensive to feed her one peanut butter sandwich a day and dress her in secondhand men's clothes once a year that the old man was entitled to every cent Harry brought home, even though she privately suspected more than once that she would have been better off living in the woods.

If she had ever found even the remains of a small shack out there, she knew that would have been all it took to never return to him.

Despite herself, an evil grin of satisfaction got the better of Harry's constant desire to be the better person. "That's probably the least shocking thing I've heard since you woke me up," she confided, rubbing her forehead gently against her daughter's.

Yuki was more than all right with returning the favor, purring in pleasure despite looking like a human for now. "That's probably going to be the only time I don't apologize for screaming in your ear."

"It's probably going to be the only time I genuinely don't want an apology for that," Harry assured her, still deliriously happy that she wasn't just a mother, she was a mother to an even better daughter than she used to hope for.

"My lady, if you're that set on not letting Yuki have her own seat for the present, would you mind switching her to the other knee so that you can both eat?" Julia pleaded, coming forward enough to switch their mostly untouched breakfast plates so that they could both use their right hands. "You've been through a terrible ordeal, and you need to replenish your strength."

"Sorry," Harry apologized on reflex, shifting her daughter as requested.

Baron looked a little abashed as he attended to his own breakfast, his sister soon taking back her place at his side. "Perhaps it would be best to leave off further discussion until after our meal is finished." He suddenly blinked and smiled a little ruefully. "Besides, her majesty just sent word that she's coming to check on Haru and to brainstorm with us."

Harry froze in surprise, letting the mouthful slide off her fork. "The _queen_?" _'How did he get word that she was coming? Or did he just remember that she already sent a note?'_

"Don't worry, Haru," Hilary assured her with a warm smile. "You wrapped her around your finger months ago, and she saw what happened yesterday. Just treat her like a friend, and she'll be perfectly pleased."

Harry looked down at her plate in misery. "I'm not sure how to treat anyone like a friend. I never… don't remember having one before Yuki woke me up," she was forced to correct herself before saying something that might hurt her real father if he was still hanging around.

She didn't see Baron's expression, but she could hear his dark, ominous growl that sent shivers down her spine.

"I wonder if it's too late to desecrate that monster's grave."

"I bet I could find it!" Yuki cheerfully volunteered, but Harry had endured enough.

"Just eat, sweetie. We'll worry about that detail later."

ooOoo

Harry was shocked when her new monarch was done with her surprisingly thorough report on what not even the fairy tales had prepared her for. "… My kind can do all _that_?" she asked while leaning back a little on the comfortable couch in Baron's study.

"I helped with some of the research, Mom," Yuki confirmed, pointing to the magical hologram of the Northern Lights. "These were almost becoming extinct, and then about fifteen years ago, they started coming back. That was probably about the time you took care of those poachers Uncle Arthur told you about so that selkies could rebuild their numbers."

Harry looked down at her hands in disbelief. She had always known she had a gift for energy, but because the old man had been violently opposed to letting her be happy for two seconds, she had never known that music was a great way to harness that power. She had known for years that her feet longed to dance as soon as she was alone, but she was from a race that was literally responsible for the _Northern Lights_? What about all the magical enhancement or healing anyone could get from her blood or even being held in her arms? "… Nothing like this was ever in the fairy tales," she muttered to herself as her blood ran cold. "The old man would have sold me drop by drop on the black market if he even _suspected_ any of this."

"Then it's probably the big reason selkies went out of their way not to let humans know about it," Yuki concluded as she looked between all the images the queen had conjured up. "As close as we can equate your lifespan, Mom, you could easily live for another two hundred years if you would learn how to stay out of trouble."

She might as well have dumped ice water on her mother.

Harry shivered while rubbing her arms at the horrible thought. Her lower lip got nibbled on before offering an insight. "I read once that mermaids live for three hundred years. Since they're… sort of my cousins…" She closed her eyes painfully at the thought.

Of watching her daughter grow past her. Outgrow her completely, and fade into dust as Harry remained forever young. Even if she met new people, could anyone ever really make her feel as much as her first daughter? Her lip trembled with the need to cry.

A pair of already-familiar arms wrapped themselves around her and squeezed gently.

"You don't have to go through with that, you know," Baron promised her as he snuck in nuzzling her brown hair. "One word from you, and Sonya would gleefully arrange for you to become a cat as soon as Timothy clears your mental health for it."

Hair which was longer than it had been since Harry's barely remembered childhood. Feeling her heart pitter-patter nervously, she looked over at the elegant black cat that had held her in awe at first glance. She took in a deep breath while nearly whispering, "Please?"

The Cat Queen beamed happily as she came forward enough to steal a lick at her forehead. "I have already made all the arrangements, dear. Now that we know your true heritage, we can move forward with the change both you and Yuki will need to undergo to permanently stay in our dimension. Just as soon as you're ready."

Harry gave her a smile full of gratitude as her daughter once again snuck her way back onto her mother's lap. It took a bit of adjustment for Baron to move his arms and allow Harry to move hers around her child's, but it was comfortably managed in the end.

' _I can get used to this,'_ she couldn't resist thinking as she leaned into both of their embraces with complete contentment.

"Speaking of rituals, how soon should we take the obedience spell off you, Baron?" the queen asked while looking up at her friend.

"It's already off," he answered without opening his eyes, still rubbing his face against Harry's hair with complete contentment.

"Obedience spell?" the selkie asked, shaking off enough of her good mood in favor of following her curiosity.

A chuckle rumbled through his chest just before he released her enough to look her in the eye with a warm smile. "Drac put me under an obedience spell that is both difficult and immoral in order to trap you. He had made some promises before you and I grew close about releasing me when his design was fulfilled, though I had doubts even then that he was going to keep his word. But when you killed him, that obedience spell was transferred to you."

Harry could feel her eyes widen in surprise. "So _that's_ what came out of him and into me." She wove her hands through her daughter's thick white hair as she tried to make up her mind on what to think of the arrangement. "… Is… it okay if… I don't want to order you around?"

Baron's brilliant green eyes glowed with even more love than before as he smirked at his queen. "See? My curse is gone."

"She may decide she likes ordering you around later, my friend," Sonya tried to reason, although she seemed just as pleased with Harry's reaction.

Baron went right back to cuddling her like he couldn't believe his luck. "However, even like this, Haru understands better than anyone what getting forced into disagreeable things feels like. I'll be surprised if there isn't a slip of the tongue every now and again, but I trust her enough not to consciously order me unless she has a very good reason. There's no one I'd rather be bound to in any form."

Harry could feel her face turn hot enough to fry eggs on.

"Ease up on the flirting, Uncle Humbert," Yuki mumbled against the soft fabric covering her mother's shoulder. "Mom's mentally four right now, remember?"

Ah, yes. Harry remembered that part of the queen's narrative. She had no trouble believing it, but it still seemed… too big for her to handle alone.

Her lips twisted into a smile that was no longer forced. _'I don't_ _ **have**_ _to handle it alone anymore.'_ "Is it petty of me for being a bit smug? I have a child's brain, but I still understood Pride and Prejudice better than anyone in my class."

Her daughter was laughing as she clung to her, but the queen and Baron looked puzzled by the remark.

"I forgot that I wanted to look that book up," the orange cat muttered under his breath. "Is it one of the books you asked the Moon brothers to bring from the Refuge, Yuki?"

She tried to answer, but then she gaped, switching her gaze between her uncle and her mother rapidly before she began laughing even harder, Harry just managing to keep her in her arms as she spasmed out of control.

"Yuki, we've talked about this kind of laughter," the queen informed her with disapproval, but such a reaction only redirected the mother's curiosity.

"What on earth slammed so hard on your funny bone?" Harry managed to ask once Yuki's laughter became more manageable.

Now breathing heavily and wiping tears from her face, she slid off her mother's lap and did a proper bow. "Mr. Darcy," she greeted her mother, waving her hand grandly at her uncle. "Allow me to present Elizabeth Bennett."

Harry's mouth fell open in shock. "You're _not_ serious."

Yuki nodded while trying to suppress a fresh round of giggles. "That's what it was like between you two thanks to Drac. I tried to tell him you were cool, I really did, but he was such an Elizabeth that he wouldn't believe me! You only wanted to be friends because you're still mentally a child, but he was so convinced that you wanted to jump him, he couldn't see how hard we were laughing at him for it! No offense," she added to her uncle, who only looked like he was somewhat understanding what she was talking about.

But he sighed in acknowledgement. "I deserved to be whipped for my earlier behavior, so a little laughter is nothing."

Harry flinched at his words. "I think Drac took care of that part, so let's not worry about it." She looked up at Baron, trying and failing to picture him being that needlessly snooty with her. "What was my Pemberley?" she couldn't resist asking her sweet little girl. _'What could I have done to impress him enough that not even finding out that I'm an overgrown and handicapped merpuppy is deterring him?'_

"You took down a hydra that thought he looked tasty," Yuki informed her in the most off-hand way she could manage. "That's why you looked so torn up in the memory you were breaking Drac into little pieces and screaming at him."

How many times was Harry's mouth going to drop before she was done getting filled in on the thirty years she lost?

But her daughter was still talking. "Then you told him the reason you never took him over your knee for a good spanking is because you wanted him to stay a part of my life so that I could have a father figure you wouldn't have to marry to keep around." She leaned in close and fake-whispered, "But he has my blessing and complete support for a courtship, fyi."

' _Fyi?'_ Harry wondered as her daughter straightened and continued the narration as she _felt_ Baron beam happily at his niece.

"After that, you won him over by being an awesome person that he can't let go of." She smirked up at her uncle. "Is that condensed enough? I'll let you tell her all the really good bits."

Baron was laughing a little nervously. "That's not exactly how _I_ would have put it, but your summary does get right to the point. Thank you for letting me keep the details."

Harry only shook her head at how impossible everything sounded. "I wonder if this is what having a hangover is like," she muttered under her breath.

All three of them laughed at her comment, but even that was different than what she was used to.

When people usually laughed at her, it had something to do with her humiliation and there was always a note of scorn in the resulting laughter. But hearing what should have been an identical sound from these cats made it clear that they just plain thought she was funny.

A smile couldn't help but dance on her own lips as the Cat Queen wiped away a tear with one finger.

"Well, you _did_ have a splitting headache and a bad taste in your mouth when Yuki awakened you."

That made Harry blink, since she didn't think she did more about it than help herself to some mouthwash when she and her daughter were getting ready for breakfast. "How did you know about the bad taste in my-"

"Unimportant!" Baron swiftly interrupted while covering her ears with his gloved hands. What was even stranger was that he looked nauseated by the question. "Just trust me, Haru. That's something you don't want to know."

She quirked an eyebrow at him but decided to let it pass. Everything about the ginger screamed that he loved her too much to hide silly things from her, never mind big things.

Baron loved her.

He didn't have to say it; his body language and their tie was trumpeting it to the rafters. Harry couldn't help but be a little awed by how much their tie was singing his devotion to her as it rippled between them.

Baron's amazing green eyes studied her more carefully. "You're swaying," he stated, sweeping her into his arms without an invitation. "I doubt another nap will do much harm to you."

"Hey! I don't like being picked up!" she said a little shrilly while struggling to be set down again. The poor teenager had always hated physical contact from an adult since that meant bruises and maybe an untreated broken bone, but he silenced her while stealing a warm hug.

The smitten cat even rubbed his head against her hair again. "You got used to me doing this once. You'll just have to get used to it again. Yuki, feel free to tell Lune your mother's all right if you wish. She'll be safe."

"Lune?" Harry asked as Baron used his power to make the study door open before them and close after them.

"Sonya's son, the crown prince," he explained while carrying her down the hallway. "He's terribly fond of Yuki, and I think she would have said something by now if she didn't at least care for him in return. She's sometimes as forward as you are with her opinions," he informed her with an adoring grin.

Harry had to look away from him with a blush. She knew that all it would take for him to put her down is an order, but she wasn't all that eager to give it. Along with his earlier reasons as to why he was as good as curse-free, Harry just… didn't have the confidence to give orders. The very idea was just too foreign to her.

"How often did I give orders before?" she asked in a tiny voice, trying not to blush worse while waving 'hi' at a smirking giant of a servant.

Baron actually took the time to think about it. "Two that I can think of off the top of my head, and that was for a six-month period. Once was when Renaldo was already planning to do what you wanted of him, and once when… no, that was Drac's last warning. Only the once. Even when I was trying to find things to hate about you, I thought it was classy how you never forgot to show courtesy to anyone, regardless of their position in or out of the castle. You would even step in when Drac's insults to the crew stepped over the line while we were filming that movie."

Haru stared at her lap as she tried again to process what her new friends had to conjure memories to prove to her.

Singer. Actress. Hero. Dancer. Prankster. Hero. Musician. Martial artist.

 **Hero**. It always returned to that. But how did all those things stem from plain old Harry?

How on earth did she make the jump from Harry to Haru? More importantly, how or when was she going to be able to do it again?

"Haru?" Baron asked, sounding like it was the third time he had tried to gain her attention.

"Sorry," she apologized automatically, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

He slowed down and looked at her with those startlingly beautiful green eyes.

Harry couldn't help hoping that if she didn't mess things up, their children would have _his_ eyes.

"I don't much care for the look you had in your eyes," he informed her in a low gentle tone. "Please. Tell me what's wrong."

How could this guy understand her conflict? Growing up in a beautiful home like this, surrounded by servants that loved him like their own family? The closest he'd have ever come to an identity crisis would have been when he needed to take up his father's rank.

But he still at least never had any doubts about what his name is.

Harry took in a deep breath, knowing without needing to be told that he wasn't going to let his question go unanswered. "I... I'm used to being in my sister's shadow." She looked down, feeling horrible for what she was about to admit. "But I never thought that someday I'd be in my own shadow. _Holy cow_ , what a shadow," she breathed as she thought again about how spectacular Haru looked, regardless of if she was dolled up on stage or standing over her ex-brother like she were covered in glory as well as hydra blood.

Baron's grip on her hand tightened as he realized her problem. "Oh, Haru, I apologize. We were not trying to make you feel inferior with all our talk. It was you who did all those things, after all."

"I'm not her, Baron," she insisted, gripping one of his shoulders to convince him to understand. "Maybe I once was, but I'm all that's left of the person you knew." She fought not to cry as another uncomfortable truth forced its way out. "I don't even know how I'm going to be a decent mom for Yuki."

He cocked his head at her in confusion. "You once told me you were the champion babysitter of your hometown."

Harry could feel her face burn, since she had never dared to say it before her daughter woke her up. "There's a difference between a part-time job with several different kids you'll see maybe once a week and someone you're responsible for every day," she tried to explain. "Any fool can feed, bathe, and put a child to sleep at night, but even _I_ know there's more to being a parent than just the physical needs."

"I suppose you will also say that you would never tackle something bigger than you to protect a complete stranger," he persisted with a weak smirk.

Her face turned even hotter at the memory. "I-I thought I was having another nightmare! That was a moment of pure insanity!"

That smirk only grew more attractive as it deepened. "Would you like to know how many of those I've witnessed out of you?"

"No!" she nearly screamed, finding out the hard way that a maid had been cleaning a tapestry behind her further down the hallway.

It was the hard way because she could hear the maid laughing like it was the best joke she had ever heard.

Harry slapped her hands to her face to cover her latest blush. "I swear I could say anything and you cats would like me even more for it," she muttered as she both heard and felt the maid collect her supplies and come down the hall to allow the two some privacy.

"That is not necessarily a bad thing, my lady," the maid informed her, sneaking an affectionate lick at Harry's hair before continuing on her way.

"Goofball," she retorted half-heartedly, making Baron hug her deeply as he continued the easy pace to the room Hilary had fixed up for her. _'Just getting called 'my lady' is weird enough without getting to live with magical cats from a different dimension.'_

"May I be bold enough to say what I liked best about you?" her friend asked wistfully. "It's little moments like this, when we are having frank discussions or when Yuki is with us. Even when we were having the misunderstanding, I loved how seriously you took your relationship with your daughter. You can take it from me that 'Harry' as you understand her never left you as Haru. But I hope you will forgive me, for I will _never_ be able to address you by that name."

She managed a wan smile. "I've never been that attached to it, but it will take time for me to get used to really being Haru." _'At least I'm not still flinching every time someone says it.'_

"Fair enough." Then he hugged her a little tighter. "If it makes you feel any better, future you underestimated you as well. The best retort you had for Drac was that he wasn't going to be able to make you sing the way your father could."

That _did_ make Harry feel better.

Then right before Baron reached her door, he stopped cold. " _Of course_!" he exclaimed, gently setting his friend on her feet. "Who better to calm your fears than James!" He raised one hand but flinched before following through with the planned action. "He must have been trying to strangle me until the hydra."

"… I really can't see you being that bad," Harry admitted, looking at him up and down. "You look like the type to ignore someone that you don't like if you didn't have to talk to them."

Baron winced like she had slapped him. "I really should have. I normally do, but…" He desperately tried to think. "The normal rules just never seem to apply when you're around."

Harry couldn't help being flattered by the way he said it.

Then he blinked and began laughing sheepishly. "I was actually called out before the hydra for paying too much attention to you. If I had been rational, I would have done many things differently. But I hope you will forgive me this trespass."

He completed the hand action, creating a small portal for him to nonchalantly reach his hand through it.

" _So cool_ ," escaped her lips before she was thinking. Her hands came up to cover her mouth in mortification, but Baron was already grinning from the praise.

"Just you wait and see what else I can do," he promised, pulling out a golden envelope and letting the portal go out like a puff of smoke.

He was very tender about handing her the letter, as if offering her a priceless treasure. "James was the one that helped you transition the first time from Harry to Haru. His final words will help with your fears."

"Why do you have this?" she asked suspiciously, although she was now holding the letter to her heart.

Baron started scratching the back of his neck with one hand out of nerves. "You once gave me permission to look through some of your files, and I looked through all of them. I know I should have had more self-control, but I wasn't anticipating how much I would enjoy learning about what you were up to before you met Yuki. This was in there, but I didn't want to risk it getting lost when I transferred them all here in preparation for your arrival. You have entire trunks filled with letters from and explanations about fans your life has touched, but it would be fitting for you to read this one first." He gestured at the golden letter since he was too much of a gentleman-gentle _cat_ \- to think of touching it when the paper was that close to her chest.

Harry couldn't resist reaching out with her free hand and grabbing his hand. "Thank you," she stated simply, squeezing his hand like there weren't any real plans to let go of it. "I feel safe around you." Her own smile turned sheepish. "I know that's silly since I seem to have a habit of rescuing you more than the other way, but… I trust you. Thank you for caring this much about me and making sure I don't have to figure out how to raise Yuki on my own all over again."

The feline lord melted at her words, tugging just enough on her hand to wrap her into one more of his warm hugs.

' _I am going to purr my head off as soon as I'm able,'_ she couldn't help thinking as she wrapped her arms around his chest and felt their bond pulse like a shared heart.

"… _I-I_ … am going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much that means to me," he swore to her as he squeezed her enough to almost be one person with her.

"If you keep hugging me, I'll get the idea," she informed him a little hopefully, although the statement was a little short on breath.

He laughed, and almost had to pry himself off her so that she could regain her breath and enter her room. "I am thoroughly planning on continuing the exercise. But you should rest after reading the letter, and make sure to have at least one handkerchief handy."

Harry nodded and reached behind her for the door handle.

"Also, you're going to read about a 'shark incident'. It just means that you came out best in a knife fight with a shark."

Harry was too tired to even drop her jaw at this point. "How am I still _alive?_ " she nearly demanded in exasperation. "We passed 'ridiculous' when Yuki mentioned the t-rex!"

He gave her another smitten look. "The best explanation you could think of was that your work wasn't finished yet. I rather like that one. It implies that no matter your lifespan, I'll get to enjoy your company for a good long time."

How did this guy instinctively know just the right words to make her swoon?

Knowing that it was completely possible that they could keep talking for hours, Harry forced her hand to turn the knob and disappear into her room with a soft 'bye' before closing the door behind her.

She leaned on the door and reached up with her free hand to feel her smile.

What really shocked her was how natural it felt. Like in her new life, she did it all the time.

Trying to fight back a childish giggle, she walked over to her beautiful bed, peeled off the old-fashioned women's boots, and moved one pillow so that she could arrange herself just right to see her true father's portrait as she read.

She felt another giddy wave wash over her as she finally got to use the word she had always been forbidden. "What do you have to say to me… _Dad?_ "


	40. The Loving

**Chapter Forty: The Loving**

 _It's not the giving. It's not the getting. It's the loving._

 _-Garfield, 'A Garfield Christmas Special'_

xxXxx

 _My dearest Haru,_

 _Please forgive the shakiness of my hand. I am merely fortunate that I talked myself into writing this before a dictation was necessary. I don't think I could bear to let another overhear what I have always been too cowardly to say to your face._

 _I know we agreed to never speak of it again, but I can't go into the grave unless I am certain you will learn of this._

 _The same moment the first 'Dad' escaped your lips was almost the moment I confessed my love for you._

Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise, but she kept reading.

 _It took me three weeks to plan the moment just right, since I had never felt this strongly before you. Yes, I've had wives and girlfriends, but they had merely been to fill the void in my life and give me something to look forward to at the end of the day. I have paid dearly for my callousness, mostly in my bank accounts and a son I only_ _ **wish**_ _I could be proud of, yet none of them mattered to me as much as you did._

 _From the moment we met, I knew something was different about you. My whole life has been based on what would benefit my social status or my career. 'Never give unless a return is assured', Father used to say. Until you, I had no idea how something as simple as a smile could not only repay me, but somehow put me further in your debt._

 _Your smile, your gratitude for even the smallest of conveniences, the way you would think about the needs of anyone over your own, both before and after I helped you gain a bit of confidence struck a chord in me that I had no idea existed. I once called your simple ways a peasant's waste of time, but you made it so personal that I found myself adjusting to your ways instead of the other way around. You made me_ _ **want**_ _to be the gentleman you were convinced I already was. My colleagues said I was growing soft, yet I had never felt as strong or as tall as when I'm standing with you._

 _As you saw the love in my eyes that moment, I saw the terror in yours. You were still getting over the shock from killing Louis and your wounds from the shark incident-_

"There's that reference." Harry could only shake her head slowly in disbelief before returning to the heartfelt letter. _'What_ _ **haven't**_ _I done?'_

 _-, but it was more than that. I knew you would be reluctant about dating a man old enough to be your father, but it never occurred to me that you saw me as a father figure. Though, to be fair, I should have seen it coming from how child-like you can be when you feel secure enough to indulge yourself, or the way you could never keep yourself from hugging me. The rather… um,_ _ **exciting**_ _driving lessons weren't precisely in my favor, either._

 _Haru, my dearest one, don't blame yourself for a thing. I could have tried to insist on what I wanted of you, you know. I could have forced Padraic to respect that you are the closest thing that he will ever have to a consistent mother figure (not that I was that successful about instilling the 'older sister' thought process). Never mind that either role has more than one ring of truth to it._

 _It was a simple choice, my darling. You needed a father infinitely more than I needed a lover. I could try to force you and lose your presence in my life while simultaneously dooming you to going back to washing dishes for the chance to avoid me, and don't try to say you wouldn't have! Or I could accept the role you've given me, enjoy all the fringe benefits, watch your career blossom, and be able to screen anyone foolish enough to think himself worthy of you. But thank you for no longer giving a second thought to mere riff-raff._

That had been another part of the explanation Harry had difficulty with. Of course she knew who Louis was; he was so loud that even if you didn't know his name from role call, you knew him as the kid with the motorcycle or the kid from detention because he couldn't let a lesson not star him.

Harry felt shallow about this, but she couldn't help wondering if the biggest reason she paid him attention was for the motorcycle. "If nothing else, it proved he had a way out of that place," she sighed before returning to the letter.

 _You are the only pure thing I've ever had in my life, Haru. Lying in this bed for longer and longer stretches has given me plenty of time to think about what would have been different if I hadn't wandered into that café so long ago._

 _Padraic will not come before my death, despite your sometimes-forced optimism. My career may not have been as rich without you, but we both know I would have found ways to keep climbing. I always do. If not for you, the end might have come even sooner since I wasn't able to quit smoking for anyone else._

 _The biggest difference I've been able to find is that I can look back on my life and smile. Because of you, the angel that's turning down paying work only to give me comfort and company as my time slowly draws to a close because you can't_ _ **stand**_ _the idea of me dying alone. You are without a doubt my crowning glory, my sweet. Beyond movies, beyond even music, you leave angel markings on this world every day, sometimes without bothering to leave your home, because you've chosen time and again to give better than you receive. I never would have thought you physically strong enough to protect anyone from harm, but here you are. Even better than knighted; you are universally recognized as the lady I always saw in you._

 _I couldn't be prouder of you, my sweet Haru. Thank you for never changing from the kind, forgiving, selfless lady that I fell in love with._

 _My last requests are the only two wishes I have left. I want you to rethink your stance on never gaining a family of your own. I know you've been hurt, and you're tired of the pain, but those dreams were so_ _ **vivid**_ _, darling. Even if what I saw was only spiritual representations for what's in store for you, I don't want you to miss out on a future that_ _ **breathtaking**_ _. For me, my sweet, let yourself be that happy. If the true Baron loves you a mere fraction as what I've seen, he will be worth everything you've been denied and been through. Please. Even without those dreams, I've always known that you would make a fantastic mother._

 _On the same note, never allow Padraic to bully you into settling for him. I wish I had done better by him, but the more you or I try to help him adopt our way of thinking, the more set he becomes in following his grandfather's philosophies. I hope you will forgive me for adopting you in secret, but don't treat it as a necessity to stay in contact after he eventually makes a fool of himself for your hand, sister or not. I assure you that I have repeatedly warned him that he will lose you if he tries to demand more than you can give. Unfortunately, I believe it will do him more good than harm to be permanently separated from you. You're patient, my angel, but even you have your limits. I will not blame you in the slightest for what_ _ **will**_ _happen if he keeps pushing his luck._

 _I have spent the years we shared proving the purity of my love for you. Never settle for less than a true gentleman willing to give you a lifetime of that same love. If you could only see yourself through my eyes, you would finally be able to understand just how much of a healer you are as well as a hero._

 _Remember, my guardian angel. Even the best of both professions must wash blood off their hands when needed, and you would have been more than happy to leave every single one of them alone if they had been willing to extend the same courtesy. The world would be a better and safer place if everyone had your heart and courage._

 _All my love,_

 _James Seamus Ratigan_

Harry stared at the letter, reading it again and again until the tears turned the words indecipherable in her eyes. _'No wonder I had this laminated."_ She laid down on her large bed and stared straight up into the canopy, holding the precious letter against her heart.

It was almost impossible to believe, after being told as far back as she could remember in one form or another that she wasn't worth the little she was given. That a man could have loved her so much, that her happiness mattered more to him than his own.

If that wasn't true love, nothing could be.

" _Thank you, Daddy_ ," she whispered through her tears, hoping that his spirit was still around to hear it. Although the words were different, the way she said them made it clear that she was also saying 'I love you'.

Perhaps it was wishful thinking, and perhaps it wasn't, but Harry could have sworn that her left cheek felt cool for a second. It almost felt like a kiss.

It just wasn't fair. The only decent parent she had, and was ever likely to get, she was forced to forget about by his own son. She cringed at the long list her daughter and… well, it was probably safe to call Baron a 'suitor', had provided her to help with the guilt of claiming a bigger life than what she had been forced to get used to. Any one of those reasons would have been justification enough, even by her own standards.

She never enjoyed killing anything, especially since she could literally feel the soul leave the body every single time. But no matter her opinion, she knew it had to be done. Whether it was her or not. At least since leaving that horrible town, she had plenty of reason to think that no one else could come fast enough.

She hadn't changed, at least as much as she thought. Haru had just been Harry with confidence. A _**lot**_ of confidence. Her new friends had tried to get that through her head, but it was still jarring coming from the one person that had the authority to tell her for sure.

Her door cracked open slightly. Haru rubbed her tears away to see Hilary peeking in at her.

The tawny feline flinched guiltily. "My apologies. I just wanted to make sure you were still here," she explained while shutting the door.

"Can you come in?" Haru called, deciding for good that it really was her true name. She folded the letter back into the golden envelope and set it next to her fruit bowl for now.

Hilary happily came in and closed the door behind her. "I know I shouldn't worry about whether or not you were still with us," she explained while heading for a chair by the window. "But yesterday came far too close to being one of the worst days of my life."

"You can sit on the bed with me if you want," Haru forced out the courage to say. "I mean… we're almost sisters, aren't we?" _'She certainly didn't mind her brother taking my stupid question for a proposal.'_

Hilary couldn't have smiled any wider if she tried. She nearly ran for the bed and pounced, making Haru say 'oof' when she was grabbed around the middle.

Just like when they had met at breakfast, Haru could feel Hilary's enthusiastic and loving energy hit her like a football player.

She would know. Her worst tormentor after the old man and Vicky was a star quarterback.

"W-Which of us is the child, again?" Haru laughed while wrapping her own arms around her friend and squeezing gently.

" _I-I was so afraid!_ " she nearly wailed, squeezing Haru like a favorite doll. "Losing Humbert would have been bad enough, but _both_ of you to that rat?! Unacceptable! Thank codfish you were amazing thirty years ago, too!"

Haru felt herself blush from the compliment, though she was delighted at the feline woman's attachment. "Why couldn't Vicky have been like you?" she mourned, settling deeper into the bed as Hilary hurriedly removed her shoes and slipped beneath the covers as well.

Hilary sniffed disdainfully. "You don't need her. You have me. Humbert says you told him the first time seeing him after meeting me that you coveted me."

Haru looked down in embarrassment, wondering if she was ever going to stop blushing. "I know that's supposed to be a bad thing, but-"

"Not this time," Hilary interrupted, taking a lick at Haru's forehead before hugging her again. "Covet me all you want, I'm coveting you, too. I've wanted a sister-in-law for a very long time, and you were more than worth the wait for Humbert to find you."

' _Nope. Definitely going to keep blushing for eternity.'_ Haru smiled but bit her lip out of nervousness as she clung to her new friend. "Hilary-"

" _Hiromi_ ," she corrected firmly. "That's your pet name for me, and I'll fight to keep it if I have to."

' _Why did I have such a weird nickname for her?'_ But Haru tried again. "Hiromi? How many weapons did I know how to use?"

Hiromi gave a funny laugh that was almost a snort. "All of them, as far as I know. If you had missed one here or there, you could probably have figured it out in a week." She sighed happily. "I remember you using the weapons the king and queen gifted you for Christmas to play 'fruit ninja' with your daughter."

"Fruit ninja?" Haru asked disbelievingly. Against her will, her mind became filled with fruit wearing head masks and carrying Japanese weapons.

Hiromi nodded, still laughing. "Yuki called said it could also be called 'fruit baseball'. We had an excellent fruit salad that night thanks to you."

Okay, that made way more sense. Haru looked down and twiddled her thumbs nervously. "… I… I… think I should learn how to do it again," she said in a rushed whisper.

Hiromi blinked her olive-green eyes at her. "Is it that important to you? I know you've never been proud of all the ways you can hurt people, and we can protect you now." Her grin turned a little vicious. "In fact, we're going to insist on it. You're too important to us."

' _She's going to laugh at me. I just_ _ **know s**_ _he is!'_ Haru took in a deep breath and spewed it out as fast she could.

"Now that I have a family, I don't want anyone to think they can hurt it, just because I don't remember what to do with more than my hands. I don't want to hurt, I want to protect. Does that make sense?" she asked miserably while sneaking a glance behind her at the golden letter. "Dad said I made him want to be the person I already thought he was. I want to be the person he already thought I was… _am._ "

Hiromi was biting her lip from nerves. "Things should calm down now that Drac's gone. You shouldn't need to."

This was too important for Haru to give up on. "He's not the only rat around. I… I've proven I'm good and unpredictable in an emergency. Who should I talk to about lessons?"

It was only at that question that Hiromi began grinning again. " _My brother_ is the crown prince's fencing instructor. I'm sure you'll find a way into talking him into re-teaching you a few things since you two were too busy enjoying each other's company before to get to that duel I was hoping for. Just to get you started again, and I wouldn't put it past him to teach you archery and jousting while he's at it."

Content that her last worry was not a permanent threat, Haru finally allowed herself to drift to sleep.

ooOoo

 _It was Christmas again. The Cat Dimension had a week-long Winter Festival that usually swallowed up the day in its grasp, but from now on, it had a special reason to pay particular attention to this day._

 _The largest ball room in the royal palace was the only prayer the king and queen had to contain all the guests, and even then, there were whole rows of seats levitating from different heights to ensure that as many cats as possible could watch the proceedings._

 _The only part of the giant ballroom that wasn't covered by cats or chairs was a long strip of pure white satin stretching from between a pair of large wooden doors and up to a slightly elevated podium that everyone fought to keep a good look at._

 _Yuki beamed at the music that resonated through the large room before turning back from the edge of one of the doors. "See, Mom? I told you the music didn't need another rewrite."_

 _Her mother smiled nervously, allowing Hiromi to adjust the small flowers holding her veil in place. "I thought it sounded a little weak the first time, but maybe you're right."_

" _Maybe?" Hiromi teased just before Nathaniel cleared his throat while looking at his pocket watch._

" _Ladies? I believe it's time."_

 _The nervousness in Haru's features was still there, but there was also excitement as she knelt by the bouquet of giggling flower girls._

 _Daughters of couples that her future husband had arranged. The younger ones, in any case._

" _Remember, it's ok to be a little silly, but try not to laugh or make noise. You can even dance down the aisle if you want if you're quiet," she added with a warm wink._

" _Lady Haru!" Nathaniel hissed, but the flower girls were already set loose._

 _They set out in pairs, five seconds apart in dresses that were subtly mimicking this or that pastel-colored flower. In time with the music that Haru had labored over for over a month, they gently swayed each other, taking turns to toss a rainbow's worth of petals across the snowy satin and perhaps too many of the guests._

 _Thankfully, everyone was too happy to do more than politely laugh at their antics._

" _I want them to remember this as a happy day, too," Haru explained to Nathaniel, who sighed in defeat as he checked his clipboard._

" _Bridesmaids, groomscats," he called out, making the next collection of cats step up and ready themselves for the next act in the music._

" _That's my que," Hiromi sighed, giving one last hug to the bride and joining their ranks as the maid of honor._

 _The cat women were also in dresses that were at least patterned after flowers, though the toms were happy to have gotten away with simple tuxes that had a handkerchief of their partner's dress material sticking out of their breast pocket._

 _Hiromi's position had been one of the details Haru had insisted on after she and Baron were ready to formalize their engagement. Nearly every other detail of the wedding and the ball to come was planned by the sister of the bride and the queen of the land, down to the beautiful wedding dress that made Haru feel like she had stepped out of a fairy tale._

 _She snuck one more glance at the tall mirror Hiromi had been fixing her next to. Her gown was a pale yellow instead of white, and both the short sleeves and the skirt mimicked the petals of a rose. Her bodice was simple by comparison, but she loved it anyway._

 _It wasn't that hard to see why wedding gowns were allowed to be any color the bride wanted in this dimension. Although white was a neutral color, there were certain cats it wouldn't have looked good on, no matter how skilled the designer was._

 _And_ _ **every**_ _bride deserved to look her best on her wedding day._

" _Can we dance down the aisle, too?" Tim asked while intentionally keeping his gaze away from a furious Nathaniel._

 _He was one of the few humans that had received an invitation to this year-making event._

 _Haru thought it over quickly. "One dance move before you separate at the front. Just nothing too adventurous, since we want the healers to enjoy the wedding, too, and the music wouldn't suit anything too energetic."_

 _Even Nathaniel was willing to cope with the compromise, since it helped steer the mood more to the proper gathering he had been hoping for, but with the taste of fun that Haru was well-known for._

 _She looked down at the toffee-colored fur on her arms and hands, her heart pounding in her chest like a drum._

 _This was it. The last minute or so she was going to be 'Lady Haru Yoshioka'. After today, she would be 'Baroness Haru von Gikkingen'._

 _It was admittedly_ _ **far**_ _more ambitious than the dreams that had kept her alive through her younger years, but all it did was prove that her imagination wasn't anywhere near as good as reality. She relaxed happily as she remembered the handful of sketches her father had done for the children that were still awaiting her and Baron._

 _A nice, big, loving family. Her childhood dream was finally becoming a reality._

 _She and Yuki waited longer than either group had before them. Haru did her best to be at just the right angle to see what each couple settled on for a dance move. It thrilled her that there was only minimal trying to out-do each other, and each had taken their place with almost no problems at all._

" _Now, you two," Nathaniel instructed, making Haru take her daughter's hand and stand in front of the double doors, waiting for the exact moment in the music that was theirs alone._

" _Can we dance, too?" her twelve-year old daughter whispered hopefully._

 _Haru gave her a look full of love. "I think you have a more important job when we get there."_

 _Yuki nodded without hesitation and squared her shoulders proudly. She was in a dress nearly identical to her mother's, but she looked like a pink rose instead of a yellow one._

 _ **This**_ _was the detail the king and advisors had fought her on. Even Muta had been taken aback, and it was only afterward when he confessed that he thought he would be chosen for the role that Haru understood his confusion, though all was already forgiven on that score._

 _Haru was strong enough by now not to care about what custom dictates. Weddings shouldn't be about customs, they should be about the ones you love sharing your happiness. It was certainly why the entire court and many of the common folk were crowded into this ballroom like a tin of sardines._

 _Besides, it made perfect sense for her daughter to give her away. As they slowly paced down the petal-strewn aisle in time to the music, Haru tried to understand why they thought anyone else was better-suited for her daughter's job._

 _If forced to be honest, Yuki's claim on Haru was more solid than anyone's, although she agreed that Bruce would have been an easy second for the position even if he was more than happy to let the little girl keep the job. Yuki was the reason Drac was able to bring Baron to the Human Dimension to find them, she was the reason they… of course 'they' meant 'Baron', were able to move past their differences for a friendship._

 _As Haru kept her eyes on her groom, in his favorite grey tuxedo and just about weeping in pure joy at the sight of her, she knew this moment never would have been possible if her daughter hadn't woken her up in time._

 _She didn't like to think about it, but without someone else to stand up for back then, she really didn't know if she would have been strong enough to finish off the rat without a better reason than her own happiness._

 _There was one more reason Haru refused to relent about her choice as she and her daughter daintily stepped onto the podium as one._

 _The more memories they had been able to show her of Yuki's birth parents and dear, dear James, it became clearer that her beloved child was very much the embodiment of those sweet people that will forever impact their lives. Her mother's beautiful heart, her father's common sense, and James' selfless devotion._

 _Haru knew for a fact that when Yuki lovingly took Baron by the hand and clasped it with her second mother's, her hands were not alone._

xxXxx

Lots of love for; foxchick1, LeafeKnight7, SparrowFliesSouth, Boredom-kills-big-time, sweetstrawberrysmiles, Momochan77, Rowena Bensel, RippleInThePond, Laddy-Daddy, EclipseKuran, Boohead86, Guest, Ecstatic Anon, Blanket Roll, Bambi4ever, PrincessoftheShadowsofDestiny, UnderlandFox-0, gacktxx, Soragirl71293, Kaoru-Yuki, Likingriver447, littleforest, Nobodysirius, Color-De-La-Musica, Eira-T, ShadowXMoonlight, Mitsuki1, Nanenna, Sindy Sugar, Delilah hunter, Ouca, AnimeCrazed121, Ayesha, Elizabeth, Cecily Mitchell, The-Right-Girl, KrisG, CoolMachinery, LunaCatLover, Elizabeth, Princess lost within darkness, Churarara, Uncle RJ Kitten, WCF, Littleladybaker, booklover15432, Chaosmaiden07, Mitsuki81, AmineFreak13, fringeperson, Harry, Nanenna, kitty-ryn, Beth, NeonTheGreen, BetweenTheSeaAndStars, Ytak, Minirowan, Hinami00, firedrakegirl, Destiny Obake, minirowan, GoldenBug Prime, Baba, InYuJi, Astracia, Ichigo Sanero, JadenFlame, Lauramichca, Suzumehime, Sohrem, prettybluebird, Anon, Bento, Cerawitch, Mad Jaggs, rinoa9485, Gemini-Victoria, Sekaihatsu, MicroNekoGirl, Bento, Bloodson, Lol, Why, Sohrem, and TwiliGoddess for telling me what's on their minds. Let spellcheck say what it wants, _I_ know how awesome you guys are for sticking with the story for this long! Four years of writing this beast, and it was so worth it!

Also, I feel like a jerk for never doing this before. I've had a succession of patient, awesome betas that have been very giving of their time to look over my work before I publish it, and all I've publicly done about it is ask for replacements when I lose enough of them thanks to time, energy, or just life becoming more important than my work. I am fine with that, but I hope they will accept my (very) late gratitude.

Xireana Prime, thank you so much for both making the cover art for this story and for checking through it for me. Another thank you for DATsukai, Lunar Star Princess Krystal and her mother, jenna131, and PrincessoftheShadowsofDestiny for their time, their love, and their friendship.

You have all been amazingly patient with me, and I appreciate everything you do to help my work shine.

Originally inspired by Shadow of the Vampire. I've never seen it since it sounds like more than I can handle, but I appreciated the summary and the fact that Cary Elwes was in it. I would have been majorly impressed if someone had guessed it, but oh well.

The other culprits are The Great Mouse Detective (which has been done before by Sindy Sugar and Andyan), Pride and Prejudice (Inspired the title), selkie legends, mermaid legends with special mention to the stolen line from Disney's The Little Mermaid, Ever After High, Matilda, Cinderella and Ella Enchanted (Since I consider the fact that there are enough differences that both merit a mention. I guess that makes two Cary Elwes movies), Harry Potter (especially with the name Haru grew up with), The Little Princess, Tangled (if Gothel had both occasionally let Rapunzel out of the tower and had sincerely loved her), Once Upon a Time, Annie, a bit of Justice League, Mary Poppins, Wolf Children, Millennium Actress, The Princess Who Never Smiled, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, The Red Shoes, The Ugly Duckling, Catherine and Her Fate, my favorite (toilet paper!) line from the Dudley Do-Right film, The Good Samaritan, An American Tale; Fieval Goes West, A Christmas Carol, Frozen, Red Riding Hood, Fairly Odd Parents, and Jurassic Park.

The conductor Steven was meant as a small nod to Steven Universe. The portals without the mirrors were probably subconsciously inspired by Doctor Strange, and the ones with mirrors from Through the Looking Glass. I also realized while writing the second Christmas chapter that I may have been influenced by Tom Hanks' 'Big' about Haru's struggle with being a child trapped in an adult body. I didn't watch Maquia until writing chapter 38, but I think that might not have been all that far off on what would have happened if the Cat Dimension never found out about Yuki. Getting outgrown by Yuki was definitely one of Haru's fears about adopting her.

I know there were an awful lot of similarities, but I swear to you that I was working on Chapter 29 when jenna131 brought Ancient Magus Bride to my attention. I'll admit that I borrowed a few things after that point, but that's how far I was when I heard of it!

Laurashrub suggested years ago turning Haru into a single mother, ditto to Sun-mei-lee for what might happen if Baron was the cold one. Nalua93 and Catsafari are the ones responsible for me replacing Baron's mother with a sister Hiromi. It really was fun to play with this idea. And I swear I had this planned out before Nanenna mentioned an Aristocats crossover! Drat you people for predicting my work, though that Aristocats post was the reason I made Louise a duchess instead of a countess again. Also thank you to Nanenna for giving me more mermaid facts, and you called it on Haru being a selkie. Go forth, and be smug that you were right.

However this was also very musically inspired, so here are the culprits:

'Let it Go', 'Defying Gravity', 'As Long As You're Mine', and 'I Stand' by Idina Menzel,

'Daughter of Death' and 'Broken Leash' by Princess Ai (Skye Sweetnum),

'Why' and 'Every Season' by Nichole Nordman (Have tissues handy if you listen to 'Why'),

'Monster', from Frozen the Musical,

'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri,

'In My Own Little Corner', 'Impossible/It's Possible', and 'Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful' from Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella Musical,

'Battle Cry', 'Whispers in the Dark', 'Hero', and 'Monster' by Skillet,

'Proud of Your Boy' and 'Never Had a Friend Like Me' from Disney's Aladdin,

'The Wizard and I', 'What is this Feeling?', 'I'm Not that Girl', 'Wonderful', 'As Long As You're Mine', 'No Good Deed', 'For Good', and 'Making Good' from Wicked,

'Rose of May' by katethegreat (LOOK HER UP!),

'Born for This' by Mandisa (sorry for the repeat, but it's just too awesome to not inspire),

'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' (any version is awesome!),

'Devoted to You' by the Everly Brothers,

'I Will Carry You' by Clay Aiken,

'I Won't Say I'm In Love' and 'I Can't Believe My Heart' by Susan Egan,

'The Magic Inside' by (voice actress of) Coloratura,

'My Past is Not Today' by Sunset Shimmer (Rebecca Shoichet),

'The Midnight in Me' by Twilight Sparkle,

'Home' by EileMonty and MEMJ0123,

'Kindness' by AcoustiMandoBrony,

'What I Almost Was' by Eric Church,

'Something I Can Never Have' by One Inch Nails,

'Over Whitby Bay', 'Loving You Keeps Me Alive', 'Forever Young', 'A Perfect Life', 'Before the Summer Ends', 'Please Don't Make Me Love You', 'If I Could Fly', 'It's Over', 'Deep In the Darkest Night, 'The Heart Is Slow to Learn', 'The Longer I Live', and 'At Last' from Dracula the Musical,

'In My Daughter's Eyes' by Martina McBride,

'Hero', 'Joan', 'Mordred's Lullaby', 'As I Am', 'Sedna', 'Changeling Child', and 'The Maiden and the Selkie' by Heather Dale,

'What Makes You Different' by Backstreet Boys,

'I Love You Too Much' and 'No Matter Where You Are' from Book of Life,

'Who Will Love This Child?' by James Barbour,

'He Gets That From Me' by Reba McEntire,

'You're the One that I Want' by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John,

'Stronger', 'You Thought Wrong', 'A Moment Like This', 'Before Your Love', 'Since You've Been Gone', 'Break Away' and 'You Found Me' by Kelly Clarkson,

'Stupid Boy' by Keith Urban,

'We' by Joy Williams,

'Scales and Arpeggios', and 'Everybody Wants To Be a Cat' from Aristocats,

'Children Will Listen' from Into the Woods,

'Not While I'm Around' from Sweeny Todd, (I really like the mashup of 'Children Will Listen/Not While I'm Around' that Josh Groban did)

'It Took a Woman' by Craig Morgan,

'Broken Vow', 'My Confession', 'All'improvviso Amore', 'When You Say You Love Me', 'Weeping', 'In Her Eyes', 'She Dances', 'Believe', 'You Are Loved', and 'Home To Stay' by Josh Groban,

'All I Ask of You', 'Music of the Night', 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again', 'No One But Her', and 'Learn To Be Lonely' from Phantom of the Opera,

'Problem (The Monster Remix)' by Becky G and will. ,

'At the Beginning' from Anastasia,

'Can't Help Falling in Love with You' (originally by Elvis Presley, but I like ATeens' version as well as the one from Strange Magic),

'I'll Never Fall in Love Again', 'Trouble' 'Mistreated' 'Straight On', 'Strange Magic' and 'Tell Him/Wild Thing' from Strange Magic (yes, I know they used existing music, but that's where I recognize it from),

'On My Own' by Ashes Remain,

'Stacy's Mom' by Bowling For Soup,

'I Didn't Know My Own Strength', 'There Is Music In You', 'You Were Loved', and 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' by Whitney Housten,

'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' by Judy Garland,

'Dreams to Dream' by Linda Ronstadt or Cathy Cavadini (I prefer Cathy),

'I Remember You' from Adventure Time,

'If I Go Back' by ElectroKaplosion and Alioopster27,

'It's Over, Isn't It?' and 'Stronger Than You' from Steven Universe,

'According to Plan' and 'Tears to Shed' from Corpse Bride,

'According to You', by Orianthi,

'I Loved Her First' by Heartland,

'Cinderella' by The Cheetah Girls,

'Go the Distance', and 'Zero to Hero' from Disney's 'Hercules'

'Cinderella' and 'Something Crazy' by Steven Curtis Chapman,

'Because I'm Shy' by Electroplosion and Chi-chi,

'Everyday Superhero' and 'Believer' by Smash Mouth,

'Congratulations', 'Non-Stop', 'Burn', 'Helpless', and 'Satisfied' from Hamilton,

'Cut the Ties', 'Genetic Emancipation', 'Infected', 'Chase the Morning', 'Let The Monster Rise', 'I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much', and 'At the Opera Tonight' from Repo! The Genetic Opera,

'Part of Your World' and 'Soon' by Jodi Benson,

'What You Want' and 'Anything For You' by Evanescence,

'Hero' and 'I Will Survive' by Enrique Iglesias,

'I've Had to Learn', 'Can You Hear Me?', and 'Tiger and the Dove Finale' from the Tears From Heaven Musical,

'Trusting You' by Megaphoric and Joaftheloaf,

'Something To Be Proud Of', by Montgomery Gentry,

'Who I Am' by Jessica Andrews,

'Façade', 'Take Me as I Am,' This Is The Moment', 'His Work and Nothing More', 'Sympathy, Tenderness', 'Someone Like You', 'Letting Go', 'In His Eyes', 'No One Knows Who I Am', 'Once Upon a Dream', 'Till You Came Into My Life', 'We Still Have Time', 'If You Only Knew', 'The Way Back', 'Lost in the Darkness', 'A New Life', 'Love Has Come Of Age' from Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde Musical,

'Almost Human' and 'Feathery Wings' by Voltaire and Aurelio Voltaire,

'I Do' by Paul Brandt,

'All For Love', 'Please Forgive Me', 'Get Off My Back', and 'Everything I Do, I Do It For You', by Bryan Adams,

'Crash and Burn', 'I Knew I Loved You', The Animal Song', and 'Affirmation' by Savage Garden,

'Angel With a Shotgun' by The Cab (I prefer the Nightcore version),

'Wish I Had an Angel', by Nightwish,

'Love Story', 'White Horse', 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', 'Starlight', 'Mine', 'Sparks Fly', 'Mean', 'Better Than Revenge', 'Invisible', 'Speak Now', 'You Belong With Me, 'Teardrops On My Guitar', 'I'd Lie', 'I'm Only Me When I'm With You', and 'Eyes Open' by Taylor Swift,

'If Today Was Your Last Day' and 'I'd Come For You' by Nickleback,

'Take a Hint' by Victoria Justice and Elizabeth Gillies (Nightcore it!),

'I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meatloaf,

'Skid Row, 'Somewhere that's Green', and 'Mean Green Mother From Outer Space' from Little Shop of Horrors,

'Unusual Way' by Griffith Frank,

'Little Me', by Little Mix (Again, I prefer the Nightcore version),

'The Devil Within', by Digital Daggers (Nightcore it!),

'Centuries', by Fall Out Boys (Both the original and Nightcore version are awesome!)

'A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief' by James Montgomery,

'How Far I'll Go,' 'Shiny', 'I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)', and 'Know Who You Are' from Disney's 'Moana',

'Ready As I'll Ever Be' from Tangled the series,

'I Dare You', 'Not an Apology' and 'Paper Doll' by Bea Miller,

'The End of This Chapter' by Sonata Arctica,

'Unforgettable', by Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole

'The Greatest Show', 'A Million Dreams', 'Come Alive', 'The Other Side', 'Never Enough', 'This is Me', 'Rewrite the Stars', and 'From Now On' from The Greatest Showman (maybe I should have just said the soundtrack),

'Someday', 'Heaven's Light', 'Hellfire', 'God Help the Outcasts', 'Out There', 'Made of Stone' from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame (movie and musical),

'Here' from Ancient Magus Bride,

'Samurai Drop' from Samurai Jack,

Let's just save time and say the whole Disney Beauty and the Beast soundtrack; the cartoon, the musical, and the live action,

'On My/Your Own' from Sofia the First,

'Silent Scream' by Anna Blue,

'Deliver Us', 'Heaven's Eyes' and 'When You Believe' from The Prince of Egypt,

'Love Led Us Here' from Muppet Treasure Island,

'You Are My Home' by the Chipmunks and Chipettes,

'What Makes You Beautiful' by One Direction,

'Homeless Heart' by Amanda Scott,

'Going Through the Motions', 'I've Got a Theory', 'Standing', 'Walk Through the Fire', 'Something to Sing About', and 'Where Do We Go from Here?' from Buffy the Vampire Slayer,

'You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby' by Bing Crosby,

'A New Day Has Come', 'Dance With My Father', 'When The Wrong One Loves You Right', 'Right In Front Of You', 'My Heart Will Go On', and 'That's the Way It Is' by Celine Dion,

And, of course, 'The World's Greatest Criminal Mind' and 'Goodbye So Soon' by the one and only Vincent Price for The Great Mouse Detective.

Wow. Way more songs than written inspirations. I'll have to remember to do add musical inspirations from now on.

Also, there were a lot of scenes that I really wanted to write for this story, but just couldn't thanks to actually moving forward with the story or keeping Haru's heritage a secret from the audience until the proper time. Plus I didn't want to run through all the things the audience already knew about after Haru's second amnesia attack and she's getting told 'no, you really did do that' over and over. Because I still want to write those scenes, and there's over eighty ideas I have to work with, I will be uploading them in a separate file than One Hit Wonders when I get off my lazy bum and actually start writing them. We'll see how that goes, but I know at least half of them will make you laugh.

As surprising as this might be to some of you, this is the first story I've ever updated while writing it. Everything else I've done was planned, finished, and beta-ed before coming to the light. This story has taught me that I need to stick with that method, because I _hated_ having all that additional pressure on me to finish before I accidentally put this on a hiatus, even if I was the only one providing it. From now on, I'm going to make use of one-shot files instead of uploading something I haven't finished yet. At least all of you won't be suffering through my dry spells again.

Speaking of which, you'll be getting one-shots for a few months at least. I guess I need to satisfy the itch of quick finishes to help me recover from this mammoth of a story.

My original plan was to use the 'Let It Go' parody I wrote back for Chapter Seventeen to introduce the next full-length story, but then my mind became so obsessed with a crack idea that I'm taking way too seriously, that I broke my own promise of a little rest to start writing it two days after finishing C+C. So you'll be getting that parody a little later than expected, but the next story should have enough laughs to help make up for it.

 _On the worst day of her life, Haru is forced into an unwanted marriage and into playing a game with unknown rules. But with her life at stake, the poor girl has no choice but to play. Strong 'T' but nothing explicit._

Yes, this one's funny. Just trust me!


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